Through the Eyes of Another Prisoner
by FiniteXS
Summary: Piko Utatane is a teenage boy stuck in a labor camp during World War II. The life of a prisoner is hard and cruel, but even though he is a prisoner, he is able to change the future of two lovers. Prisoner/Paper Plane AU. Rated T for language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_If you clicked this, then thank you for clicking. This story is based off of the "Prisoner/Paper Plane" series. The songs can easily be found on Youtube if you've never heard them. This story, however, will not completely follow the "Prisoner/Paper Plane" storyline. Most of it will be the same, except for some plot changes and additional characters. The story will ALWAYS be Piko's POV unless something important happens that requires a change to another character's POV. So, after the disclaimer, let's finally begin._

_Special thanks to Neon for proofreading this chapter._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vocaloid or the "Prisoner/Paper Plane" series. **

Piko Point of View

"Keep on fighting men! We aren't going to give up to these Nazi bastards!" I ran around the battlefield and looked for wounded men that had to be taken away from the battle. "We aren't going to lose! Keep on fighting!" The voice of Commander Honne rang across the battlefield, clear and confident. I spotted a soldier trying to crawl away from the fight. I didn't know if he was friend or foe, but I helped him get out of the fray and into the trees. Everyone here was going to die eventually, so why not help a person live a little bit longer?

The man I dragged away coughed and looked up at me. "Thank you fo-" He abruptly stopped talking and stared at me. I stared back at him. He looked like he was around my age. He had black hair and amber eyes, but he was fighting for the Germans. He was probably a Japanese soldier helping the Germans. He tightly clutched his gun; his body was tense and his eyes showed his panic. I wordlessly tossed him my canteen. He slowly let go of his gun and looked at me with a confused expression. "Why did you help me, American?" He spoke English fluently, but I could hear a slight Japanese accent.

I humorlessly laughed and said, "We're all going to die because of this damned war. It doesn't matter what I do." I got up and turned around to go back into the chaos.

"Wait."

I stopped walking, but I didn't turn around. If he was going to shoot then he better do it now.

"What's your name?"

I turned around and was a little confused as I said, "Why does that matter?"

"Just say it."

"It's Piko. Utatane Piko."

"Piko! Piko, where are you?" The voice of Commander Honne came from far away, worry evident in his voice. I noticed that the gunfire had stopped and that it was deathly quiet, except for Commander Honne's voice. The soldiers were probably taking away the dead bodies to bury later, as they did after every fight.

"I'm over here! I'm near the trees." I heard Commander Honne say something as the footsteps of the other soldiers came near me.

I heard the sound of clothes rustling behind me. I turned around and saw the guy trying to run away, but he was trembling too much to run. He hastily tossed me my canteen and anxiously looked around. In a shaky voice, he said, "Thanks for your help, Piko, but I've got to go now. I don't wanna be around when your friends arrive."

I just shrugged and said, "See ya. Try not to die. And they aren't my friends."

Right after I finished speaking, the other soldiers arrived. When they saw me, they looked relived. Their relief quickly turned into hostility as they saw the guy, who only managed to walk a few feet. One of the soldiers, I think his name was Meito, held up his gun and yelled, "Enemy soldier!" The rest of the soldiers moved around me so that they were all protecting me from the guy if he decided to shoot, which I doubt was going to happen.

He dropped his gun and held up his hands. The guy, who I should be calling the boy, since he wasn't much older than me, looked up at me with fear in his eyes.

The soldiers quickly took his weapons and got behind him. Meito solemnly said, "If you try to run, we will not hesitate to shoot you. Now, start walking. We're taking you to our camp as a prisoner."

The silence in the air reminded me of a funeral as we walked back to the camp. Once we arrived, Commander Honne walked up to us with a cold expression and said, "A prisoner. You guys brought back a prisoner. Damnit, you guys know that we can't afford to have a prisoner slowing us down when we're in German territory. Kill him." Commander Honne handed his pistol to Meito without any emotion on his face.

The fear in the boy's eyes was impossible to miss. He closed his eyes and held up his arms over his face as if to protect himself.

When I saw him do that, I felt pity for him. I tried to convince myself that he had to die. He's a prisoner. Prisoners only slow us down. If we slow down, then the Germans will catch up to us. We'll lose the wa- Ah, damn it. I'm probably going to doubt this later.

Meito raised the pistol to the boy's head and was about to pull the trigger. I quickly ran and gripped Meito's wrist, forcing him to point the gun at the sky. I desperately said, "Wait! Don't kill him! He's just a teenager!"

Meito looked at me with an expression of pity and said, "You heard Commander Honne. He's just dead weight, and we can't afford any dead weight right now in the middle of enemy territory."

Commander Honne walked up to us and put his hand on my shoulder. "Piko," he sympathetically said, "he can't do anything for us. We have no use for him, and in war, people have to die. Please don't make this any harder than it has to be."

I tightened my grip on Meito's wrist and glared at Commander Honne. "No. I'm not moving. He may be an enemy and a prisoner, but he's just a teen."

Commander Honne's expression grew stern as he said, "I won't ask you again, Piko. Move."

"Like hell I am."

Commander Honne snatched his pistol from Meito's hand and pointed it at me. He coldly said, "If you don't move, I'm putting a bullet through your head. I don't care if you're only thirteen. Things must be sacrificed in war, people included. I won't hesitate to kill you, and after I kill you, the prisoner will also die."

For a moment, I considered moving away. We were both going to die if I didn't move. Also, I barely knew the boy. He could kill all of us while we were fighting. Or he could run away and tell our location to the Germans. Even as I tried to convince myself, I knew that he couldn't kill us. He didn't have the killer instinct in his eyes that I saw in the other soldiers; besides, he literally couldn't kill us. We'd always be watching him if he was our prisoner.

The atmosphere was tense as the soldiers watched Commander Honne's stern face and my stubborn one. Finally, after a few more seconds, I said, "I'm not moving."

Commander Honne flatly said, "Then die." I closed my eyes as he pulled the trigger. I heard the loud BANG! of the gun, but instead of expecting pain or whiteness or redness or something related to death, I felt nothing. I slowly opened my eyes. Commander Honne did shoot, but the gun was aimed towards the ground.

He tiredly looked at me and sighed. "Damnit, Piko. Why can't you be a normal, good soldier and listen to commands?" He put his pistol away and said to Meito, "Meito, take the boy into the medical tent. Be there as Piko looks over him for wounds."

The soldiers all let out sighs of relief. They slowly dispersed to set up tents and to cook food. Meito motioned for the boy and me to follow him. I started to walk warily to the tent. It was a long today. I realized that the boy wasn't next to me; he was still standing in the same spot, unmoving. I didn't even think that he was breathing. I grabbed his arm and pulled him along with me, not bothering to try to talk to him. He was probably too scared to say anything coherent.

When we reached the tent, I had the boy sit down on a small blanket that was messily laid down on the ground. Hoping that he could still follow directions, I said, "Take off your shirt and roll up your pants. Lie down after you do that."

He wordlessly took off his shirt and rolled up his pants. He slowly lied down, looking around as if an enemy would appear in the tent. I looked over his body for any wounds. As I checked his body, there was silence in the tent. Meito, who was watching us for the whole time, cleared his throat and awkwardly said, "Uh…look, kid. Sorry about…earlier..y'know. Orders from the commander. Gotta follow them. I really had no grudge against you or anything…..I just had to."

I sent him a "shut up or leave" look and went back to looking over the boy. To my surprised, the boy responded. "…It's alright…..Just orders after all."

Meito looked surprised when the boy responded and said, "Thanks…well, I trust you boys. I'll be outside. If you need help, just call." After looking back at us one more time, Meito left the room, boots making a soft sound every time he walked on the dirt.

I continued my examination on the boy as a calming silence came over the tent. The boy suddenly said, "Rei. Kagene Rei."

I looked at him, confused. "Huh?"

"That's my name. Rei Kagene…and thanks for helping me out there. If you didn't…." his voice shakily trailed off as he closed his eyes and shivered a bit.

I nonchalantly said, "Eh. Whatever. I did what I had to. Besides, you don't seem like the type to want war. Oh, and you can get up now. You don't seem to have any major wounds, besides cuts and bruises."

He got up and looked at me gratefully. He put on his shirt and rolled down his pants.

Suddenly, Commander Honne's voice came from outside. "Everyone! Get your weapons ready! There are soldiers coming towards our direction! Pack up your stuff and come on!"

_**Feedback=Good**_**_  
><em>****VVV**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

_Note: Thanks to asianchibi99 and AkiraneKiiro for reviewing.  
>Chibi - Glad to know you find this story interesting. Hopefully, this chapter will meet your expectations.<br>Kiiro - interesting name you have. And glad you R&Red the first chapter. _

_Huge thanks to Blue Neonlightshow for beta reading/proofreading this chapter. It'll probably get too repetitive if I repeat this each chapter, so consider this to be applied to the rest of the chapters._

**Disclaimer: Disclaim'd**

Piko Point of View

I snapped my head up towards the entrance of the small tent. Commander Honne's voice continued to resound throughout the camp. "Weapons ready! Pack up the tents! Rush, rush!"

I grabbed Rei's arm and pulled him with me outside. His arm was shaking while I pulled it. I glared at him and said, "This is no time to be scared, Rei." I roughly pushed him away from the tent and began to pack it up. As I was packing, a sudden thought came into my head. I turned to Rei and quietly said, "Listen to me carefully, Rei. My teammates are going to be distracted once the enemy arrives. During that time, you can run away. Commander Honne won't be able to spare any men, besides me, to guard you." I stopped talking to let Rei comprehend what I said. His expression was still fearful, but he looked a little hopeful now. "Your friends are our enemies…if you can get there without being hurt and explain what happened, you won't die. They'll see you as a valuable source of information and won't force you to fight."

Rei bowed his head and gratefully said, "…Thank you. I'm indebted to you." He looked hesitant, as if he wanted to say something else, but I quickly turned around and finished up packing the tent. It was pretty small, so it didn't take long.

"Piko! Come here at once!" I heard Commander Honne say my name and ran up to him.

"What is it, Commander?"

He looked warily over his shoulder and said, "…We may not get out of this alive, Piko." I tried to keep my face apathetic, but I couldn't help but widen my eyes in surprise. I was terrified because of Commander Honne's words. He never said anything about losing; he always said that they were going to pull through and win in the end. He grimly looked at me and said, "Don't be scared, Piko. I know that you're scared…I can tell." I stared down at the ground, unable to face Commander Honne. He was like a father to me in the army; he always visited me and made sure that I was safe. Commander Honne gently said, "Look up." I hesitantly looked up, not willing to look at his face. He placed one hand on my shoulder and, almost lovingly, said, "Things aren't going to turn out well. Take my revolver."

I stared at him in shocked as he handed over his pistol, which I now saw was a revolver, the one he always carried around with him. I always saw it strapped to his side ever since I joined the army. He always had it with him. "But…Commander, aren't you going to need this?"

Commander Honne slightly smiled and said, "I think you're going to need this much more than I will." He handed me some ammunition and said, "Put these in the pouch on your side. I've taught you how to use a revolver before, so I trust you know how to reload." Commander Honne looked over my shoulder and said, "Meito wants to talk to me." He walked away from me towards Meito.

I turned around to go back to Rei, but I heard rushed footsteps behind me. I turned around and saw Commander Honne standing over me. "What is it, Co-"

"Do me a favor. Call me dad…just once." He said it in an almost begging manner.

I looked him, surprised at first, but I said without hesitation, "Dad."

Commander Honne looked sad as he hugged me and said, "Good bye, Piko. I always treated you as if I would've treated my son." He let go of my and looked at me one last time before turning away and walking towards Meito. He quickly rubbed his eyes as he walked away and pulled out his submachine gun.

I stared after my "dad" and was tempted to run after him, but I briskly walked back to Rei with a feeling of dread. I knew without a doubt that I would never see my "dad" again.

"Piko, what do we do?" Rei's sudden question snapped me out of my pensive state. I was too deep in thought to realize that I had walked over to Rei.

I stared at the ground for a few seconds before answering, "You get ready to run…I'm going to fight."

Rei looked at me with a panicked expression on his face as he frantically said, "I've seen the enemy forces, Piko! Don't you realize that you're outnumbered at least 10 to 1? There's no chance of you guys surviving!"

I curtly said, "I know," and walked away from him.

"Everyone! Get over here now!" Instead of hearing my "dad's" voice as I was expecting, I heard Meito's voice. I rushed to where Meito was, pistol in my hand and my backpack on my back. By the time I got to Meito, everyone was already standing in front of Meito. Meito cleared his voice and said, "I know that you guys expect Commander Honne to be here now, but he went ahead to place some traps. For now, you guys have to listen to me." Some soldiers whispered to each other, but most of the soldiers remained quiet. "We aren't going to lose against these bastards. Men, we wait here in order to combat our enemies and keep out homeland safe. We will fight against them and kill without hesitation. Now, who will help me in making sure that our loved ones back home are safe?" The men began to cheer, yelling out war cries and raising their weapons in the air.

There was an explosion in the distance behind Meito. Meito yelled, "Men, there's out signal! We fight NOW!" The men yelled and ran towards the explosions.

I was about to run with them until I felt an arm wrap around my waist. I turned around and saw Meito grabbing onto my waist. "Hey, let me go! I'm going to fight!"

Meito solemnly looked at me and said, "Don't argue with what I say, Piko. You aren't going to fight. All of us are going to make sure that at least you survive this war. I want you to run. Run far away from here. Take your friend with you if he's still around. You'll have to run away with what you have. Now, GO!" Meito shoved me away and ran after the other soldiers.

I angrily glared in Meito's direction and yelled, "Like hell I'm going to stay back!" Without thinking, I sprinted to the battlefield.

* * *

><p>Gunshots rang throughout the battlefield. There were already corpses of friend and foe alike piling up on the ground as soldiers screamed and yelled in fear or fury. "Dirty bastards! Die!" "Damn Nazis!" I saw that we were holding out against the Axis force soldiers, but we were being overwhelmed by their larger numbers. I gritted my teeth when I saw a teammate die. Those bastards…I'll kill them all if I have to! I pulled out my revolver and started shooting anyone I could see with a light, beige uniform*.<p>

"Piko! What're you doing here?" Meito suddenly appeared to my right, trying to shoot his submachine gun and talk to me at the same time. He quickly pulled me down as a body was flung above our heads by a grenade.

I got back up and kept on shooting. "I wasn't going to stay back while all of you practically asked to die!" I angrily said.

Meito paused in his shooting to look at me strangely and said, "Aren't you scared of dying?"

I tried to shoot someone, but I ran out of bullets. I reloaded and irately yelled, "Fuck fear! I'm too pissed off to care!"

The world was a blur as I continually kept on shooting and ducking. I couldn't tell if the people next to me were friend or for, but I knew that Meito was always somewhere close to me. I knew that I was getting tired, but I couldn't give up. I was starting to miss more and was reloading slower. _Click! Click!_ I looked down at the now useless revolver in my right hand. I put it back in the pouch and picked up a fallen soldier's gun. I tried to ignore the fact that it was an American gun and kept on firing, not wanting to see who I took the gun from.

Suddenly, Meito yelled, "Piko! Watch out!" The world seemed to go in slow motion as Meito shoved me out of the way of a German's submachine gun fire. The bullets pierced his chest one by one and entered his chest area. All I could do was helplessly stare as Meito fell to the ground, gun slipping out of his hands. Everything went back into normal time as Meito lay on the ground. The German soldier now walked towards me, the barrel of his gun aimed at my head.

I yelled out in anger and despair, "Meito! NO!" With a burst of energy, I jumped to my right just as the soldier shot at the spot where I just was. I quickly raised my gun and shot him once in the chest. He fell to the ground, lifeless; there was an expression of pure shock in disbelief on his face.

I quickly rushed to Meito, praying and hoping that he was alive. When I got to Meito, I crouched down next to him and lifted up his shirt. "…Piko," Meito weakly said. He was alive!

I pulled out some gauze from my backpack and desperately said, "Don't move, Meito. You'll be fine."

Meito humorlessly laughed and said, "We both know..." He paused to cough, wiping away some blood from his mouth. "…that I'm going to die."

I stared at him, tears on the verge of overflowing. "No! I won't let you die, Meito! You told me that you would always be there to protect me."

Meito weakly raised his hand and ruffled my messy, white hair. "You were a good kid, Piko…You didn't complain, even though you were the youngest out of all of us."

I tried to rub some of the tears that were blocking my vision and stubbornly said, "Hold still, Meito."

Meito just smiled at me and said, "I'll always…be watching over you. " He closed his eyes and his hand fell from my head. He lay there, limp and unmoving.

I grabbed his shoulder and shook it, crying uncontrollably. After a few seconds of getting no response, I finally realized that Meito was dead. Meito. He was dead. No longer living. Gone. I slowly stopped shaking his shoulder and hugged his head to my chest. I quietly said, "Meito... I won't forget you."

Suddenly, I heard people yelling in German. I was surrounded by Germans within a few seconds. Two men dressed up in neater, crisper looking uniforms came into the circle and stood in front of me. One of them had blonde hair and blue eyes and the other one had black hair with brown eyes. The blonde haired man said something to a soldier. The gun, which I didn't plan on using, was taken from my hands. The two men talked to each other, looking at me from time to time.

The black haired man suddenly said to me in Japanese, "Do you understand me?" I remained silent, staring at Meito. He sighed and said again, "Do you. Understand. What. I. Am. Saying?"

After a few seconds, I quietly said, "Yes…I do."

The man talked to the blonde haired man in German, gesturing and pointing at me. The blonde haired man indifferently looked at the other man as he talked, nodding from time to time. The black haired man turned back to me and asked, "You are Japanese, like I. You were forced to fight for the Americans, correct?"

I slowly turned my head up and stared at him, straight in the eyes. "I am Japanese…but I chose to fight of my free will. They were my teammates, and I will die with them."

The Japanese man frowned and this and said, "The man next to me does not understand what we are saying. I can help you, for we are fellow Japanese."

I steadily stared at him and said, "I am your enemy. Will you let an enemy live?"

The man looked a little desperate as he said, "I praise your bravery and honor, but please, reconsider." I wordlessly looked back down at Meito.

The man shook his head and looked back at the German man; they talked some more until the German man pointed at a soldier and said something to him. The soldier walked out and took out his pistol, pointing it at my head. Well, Meito, Dell, everyone else, I'll be joining you soon. I closed my eyes and prepared myself for death.

"Wait!" A familiar voice suddenly cried out. My eyes opened just in time to see a blur of beige tackle the German soldier that was about to shoot me. On top of the German soldier was Rei with a panicked expression. He quickly got off the German soldier. The soldiers were moving towards Rei, but the Japanese man stopped them. The Japanese man asked for Rei to explain what happened; Rei explained how he was held a prisoner at my camp and how they spared him. He also mentioned how I helped him escape. The Japanese man calmly nodded throughout all this, occasionally asking a question.

Finally, the Japanese man turned to the German man and said something. The German man started yelling at the Japanese man, but the Japanese man coldly glared at him and said a few words. The German man reluctantly stopped arguing, but he still looked angry.

The Japanese man turned to all the soldiers and pointed to the direction of their camp. The men began marching back without a second glance back at me. "You two. Come with me," The Japanese man said while pointing at Rei and me.

I stubbornly shook my head and looked down at Meito, refusing to move. The man irritated said, "We will come back and bury your comrades later. For now, we must talk."

We walked farther away from the camp. Rei looked like he wanted to say something, but he looked like he was trying not to talk. The man stopped walking and turned around. He looked calmly at us and opened his mouth to say something, but Rei quickly spoke. "Kiyoteru-sama**! I apologize for having caused you trouble!" He bowed down, not looking at Kiyoteru in the eye.

Kiyoteru waved his hand and said, "It is forgiven, Rei." He turned to me and said, "What is your name?"

This guy didn't look like he wanted to kill me, so I would talk to him. For now. "My name is Utatane, Piko."

He nodded and said, "My name is Hiyama, Kiyoteru; commander of the Japanese forces in Germany, but you may simply call me Kiyoteru. Thank you for finding and bringing Rei back." He paused and looked at me, his expression growing serious. "Piko, I understand that you were in Dell Honne's division. You understand what has happened to him, do you not?"

I looked at him and nodded, trying to keep my face apathetic. "Yes, I do understand that he is now…deceased." I wasn't going to start crying again in front of others. Never.

Kiyoteru reached into his pocket and pulled put a piece of paper. He gave it to me and said, "…He and I were friends. We were childhood friends when he used to live in Japan. A few years before World War II started, he moved away to America, saying that he wanted to explore the world."

He paused for a bit, seeing if I wanted to say anything. When I said nothing, he continued. "When World War II started, I knew that there was a chance that he and I would meet on the battlefield. He and I met today for one last time, and we talked to each other. He gave me this to give this to you."

I put the piece of paper in my pocket. I would read it later. Suddenly, his words registered in my head. I said, "…Were you the one that killed him?" I tensed my body, getting ready to attack him.

Kiyoteru saw this and harshly said, "No! I would never kill a friend. He gave it to me and ran back into the battle."

After hearing Kiyoteru say this, I suddenly felt tired. My knees gave away, but Rei quickly caught me. I could hear Rei and Kiyoteru speaking, but it sounded like I was underwater. My vision was starting to grow dark and fuzzy around the edges. I knew that I was going to lose consciousness in a few seconds. The last thing I heard before I lost consciousness was something about a labor camp.

*=I know that this wasn't historically accurate, but it took too long to go through all the details about uniforms on Wikipedia about the Axis' uniform, so I apologize for it being historically wrong about the uniforms.

**=I'm not that sure about Japanese honorifics, so please tell if I used it incorrectly.

**_2012 soon...Will the world end? The review button doubts it.  
><em>VVV**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Note: Thanks to asianchibi99, AkiraneKiiro, Piko-Chuu94 (PIKO!), and wisarute7 for reviewing.  
>Chibi - I think that I fail in war realisticness, but thanks anyway =P. And I never did see Hetalia...everyone says it's good.<br>Kiiro - -hands over a tissue- It wasn't supposed to make people cry D:  
>Piko - Thanks =P. It took a while to plot out. Glad you like it.<br>Wisarute - Thanks. And yes, it would be awesome if there was another song for the "Prisoner/Paper Plane" series._

_THANK YOU NEON._

**Disclaimer: Piko says that I don't own him. Rei says that Hanepochi owns him. I own nothing in this story, except for the plot and ideas. **

Piko Point of View

_"Piko! Piko!" I slowly opened my eyes and groaned. The sun was shining brightly, and there was a cool breeze. I felt grass around my arms and legs. Wait… arms and legs? My army uniform has long sleeves; I couldn't be feeling this. I looked down and saw that I was wearing comfortable, white shorts and a slightly big, white t-shirt. "Piko! Come on, I'm waiting for you." The voice called out to me, urging me to get up. I lazily got up and looked around. Instead of being on the cold, sandy German land like I expected, I was in a peaceful, grassy field. I was on top of a hill under the shade of a large tree._

_The voice came from the bottom of the hill. I started walking and wondered about how I got here. I remember talking to Rei and Kiyoteru, but I couldn't recall what happened after. When I reached the bottom of the hill, I saw a lake nearby with light blue water. I saw a figure next to the lake, waving at me. As I got closer to the figure, my heart started to pound faster. What happened? Could it be? Was everything just a horrible dream? I ran to the figure and jumped into his outstretched arms as he happily laughed. I couldn't help but let a few tears out of my eyes as I said, "Dell! It's you!"_

_Dell laughed and said, "Oh, it's good to see you Piko."_

_I looked up at him and smiled, not bothering to wipe away my tears, and said, "You're alive! Everything was just a nightmare!" I hugged him again, never wanting the moment to end._

_I felt a soft hand pat my back. After a few seconds, Dell gently got out of my hug and motioned for me to sit down. I sat down and faced Dell. He sat down and looked at the lake with a peaceful smile. He gently said, "Piko, I know this must seem strange to you. I understand that. However, Piko, listen to my words." I felt a cold breeze blow across my skin, causing me to shiver. Something about Dell's words weren't good. Dell, instead of having his peaceful smile, now looked grim as he said, "Things won't be easy Piko…There only going to get harder from here."_

_The lake started to ripple as the wind blew harder. I tried to calm myself as a feeling of dread grew inside of me. I hesitantly said, "…Dell? What're you talking about? Everything is fine now."_

_Dell let out a small sigh and said, "You're normally much more logical than this. Don't ever forget how to think rationally in the future. You'll need it." It started to rain and thunder; the lake violently rose and fell. _

_I started to panic and said, "Dell, what's happening? What are you talking about?"_

_Dell gave a small wave as he said, "Don't give up. I'll always be with you." After he said this, the violent wind turned into a tornado. Dell slowly faded away. I tried to yell for Dell, but my voice was disoriented by the wind. _

_There was water flying everywhere, plants were being uprooted, and I was starting to lose my grip on the grass. I gritted my teeth and dug my fingers into the ground. What the hell was happening? Dell's gone, and I'm about to be blown away by this tornado! I slowly lost my grip on the grass as I felt my shoulders burn and threaten to become dislocated. I saw the tree from the hill fly towards me through the fierce gale. I closed my eyes and waited for the tree to hit me, but instead, some images flashed through my mind. Most of them were unclear, but I managed to see a few things: A sick looking blonde haired girl, a blonde haired man staring coldly down at me, a blue haired man with a gun, and finally, some green gas pouring out of a showerhead._

_I gasped and opened my eyes. The tree, which I last saw in front of me, was no longer there. The tornado calmed down into a small breeze. I let go of the grass and rolled onto my back, exhausted. The sky was blue, not a cloud in sight. It seemed like the storm never happened. After I regained some energy, I sat up and looked around. At first, I thought everything was the same, but when I looked into the lake, I saw that it was almost all empty. There was only a small puddle of water at the bottom of the lake. Suddenly, a vibrant rainbow shot out of the puddle and arced into the sky. The rainbow, instead of being multicolored, was a mix of yellow and orange. _

"_You may not know it, but you will significantly change the lives of two people, Piko." I looked behind me and saw Dell calmly standing there, smoking a cigarette. Before I could question what just happened, he said, "Whatever happens in the future is decided by you. Don't mess it up."_

* * *

><p>I snapped open my eyes and bolted up into a sitting position, panting and sweating. I was lying inside a small tent, lying on a blanket on the ground. It was all a dream? It was all a dream…All a…Dammit! It was only a dream! I thought I saw Dell…and he was alive…and…and…"Dammit!," I yelled as I punched the ground.<p>

"Piko? Are you awake now?" I heard Rei's quiet voice from outside the tent. Without giving me a chance to calm myself, Rei entered the tent. I turned away from Rei and faced the ground, not wanting to see Rei. Rei sounded worried as he said, "Piko, what's wrong?" I silently shook my head, refusing to stare at anything else but the ground. It was silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, I felt Rei hug me.

Surprised by his touch, I shoved him away. I glared at him and curtly said, "What the HELL was that for?"

Rei let out a sigh of relief and said, "There's the Piko I know." I glared at him for a few more seconds, then stared at the wall of the tent and said, "So…what happened?"

Rei looked uneasy and started to fidget. He nervously said, "Let's talk about this later… Someone wants to see you." Rei offered his hand to help me up. I ignored it and got up by myself. Rei looked a bit depressed when I ignored him, but he led me out of the tent.

When we got outside, it was night. The stars were blazing in the sky, and there was a shining full moon. I took a moment to look at it. Dell always loved to look into the night sky; he always took me with him whenever he felt that the night was bright enough. We always talked about whatever we felt like talking about. One time though, we talked about our pasts. Or more specifically, Dell told me his past while I refused to tell him mine.

* * *

><p><em>In the background, I heard the loud voices of the commanders, debating about how they should attack Germany. I was outside of the base with Dell, watching the night sky glow brightly with stars. <em>

"_Dell, what was your life like before the war?" _

_Dell looked down at me, looking a little surprised by the question. "Why the sudden question, Piko?"_

_I shrugged and said, "Just wondering."_

_He looked back into the stars glowing in the night with a faraway look in his eyes. "I used to live in the poor part Hiroshima, Japan with my younger sister, Haku. Our parents were killed a few days after giving birth to Haku. I never found out why they were killed, but I'm guessing it was because other people wanted the small amount of money they had." _

_He sighed and looked back up to the sky with a frown. "After our parents were killed, we were adopted by an abusive Japanese couple. They were also poor and made me work as soon as they took me in. They were considering killing Haku, but I hid her in a part of the city where they couldn't find her. It was a miracle she survived for even a few weeks. I worked endlessly and got only a bread crust each day. I had to find more food for Haku and me."_

_He stopped speaking and rolled up the sleeve on his right arm. "When I was ten, my mom was fired. She went to the bar and got drunk. When she returned home, she was pissed off and decided to take her anger out on me. She stabbed me right there." Dell paused to point to the center of his arm. "I managed to escape from my mom and reach a hospital. I was lucky. There was a hospital near where I lived, and a doctor took pity on me and stitched up my arm for free."_

_I took a closer look at his arm, trying to find the scar. At first, I couldn't find it, but after searching for a bit, I saw a deliberate, thin, red line. I winced when I saw it. It was too neat to have been caused by natural occurrences. _

_Dell rolled down his sleeve and continued talking. "After I got stitches and a blood transfusion, I took Haku and ran away as far as I could. Poor Haku was only six when I ran away with her. It took a few weeks, but we eventually got to the city of Tokyo. The people were nice in Tokyo, and we found decent shelter. I begged for money and each day and I collected enough to have just barely enough food for Haku and me. We were offered help by multiple people, but I refused them all. I didn't know who to trust. However, after almost a year of living like this, I found someone I was able to trust. A boy around my age found me and always asked me to live with him and his family. I kept on refusing, but he never gave up. I was always tempted to accept his offer...He seemed like a good kid." _

_Dell pulled out a cigarette and started smoking. He looked angry as he jammed the lighter back in his pocket. "However, one day during the cold winter season, Haku got sick. I tried to help her, but I couldn't do anything without medicine. The boy visited me to ask me to live with him and his family again. I accepted his offer as long as he could help make Haku well again. At that time, I thought that all families were abusive and only wanted work from their children, but I didn't care about working again if they could make Haku well. I went with them and, to my surprise, they were a good family. They took me in and raised both Haku and I. I became good friends with their son. We both went to the same schools and even the same college. Life was pretty normal afterward. Haku got married, my friend got married, and I remained single. However, when I was thirty four, six years before World War II, I moved to America. My family was against it, but I was foolish. I had a dream of traveling when I was younger. Now, I wish I never moved away from Japan… I missed my family." _

_Dell was staring into the sky, his expression unreadable. I was quiet for a few seconds, but then said, "So… what happened next?"_

"_Nothing. The war started and here I am." _

_I wanted to know more about him, but I stopped myself from asking. He looked like he didn't want to talk anymore. "So, what about your past?"_

_Dell's voice was quiet, but I could tell that he was curious. I silently shook my head. Dell was nice to me, but I didn't want to tell him about my past. I didn't want anyone to know. "It… it's nothing worth saying," I flatly said, hoping that Dell wouldn't pry for answers. _

_Dell said nothing, but he put his hand on my head and said, "You're a good kid… If you ever do feel like telling me, then tell me. I'm curious." Dell got up and yawned. He tiredly said, "Well, I'm pretty sleepy. I'm gonna go to sleep now. It'll be a busy day tomorrow. You should sleep too." He ruffled my hair and left, mumbling about how he still had reports to fill complete._

* * *

><p>"...iko? Piko!" I blinked in surprised, wondering how long I had kept Rei waiting. He looked at me worriedly and said, "Are you feeling fine? Do you need to sleep? You can meet him tomorrow."<p>

I shook my head and said, "No, I'm fine. Let's go see this person." Rei looked at me carefully once more and continued walking. "So… who're we seeing?"

"My brother. His name is Kizaito."

Rei? A brother? I blinked in surprise, allowing this to register. If we had killed Rei… I let out a silent sigh of relief. I would've hated to be the one telling Kizaito that his brother was killed by my commander. He probably would've tried to kill me if he found out.

As we neared a tent with a barely visible medical cross on it, someone spoke. "Well, well… who'd you bring, Rei?" Rei jumped a bit in surprise while I was surprised, but didn't show that I was. Rei looked around him, trying to find the speaker. The person, who I'm assuming to be Kizaito, chuckled. "Look right to the entrance of the medical tent. I'm right there."

Rei's face brightened when he saw the speaker. "Kizaito!" I was right. "You're okay!" Rei ran over to Kizaito and tried to hug him, but Kizaito pushed him away.

It was hard to tell, but I think Kizaito was grinning. "Not yet. My arm still hurts. Commander Kiyoteru says that it'll heal in a week or so." He looked at me and said, "So, who are you?"

It was hard to see him, but his voice was light and playful. His laid back, nonchalant attitude had a calming effect on me. I responded, "Piko. Utatane, Piko. You're Rei's older brother?"

Kizaito chuckled and said, "Guilty as charged. I'm the eldest of the Kagene siblings; nice to meet you. So, I hear you saved my little brother's life."

I blinked in surprise at the sudden change of subject, but I said, "Yea."

Kizaito suddenly walked up to me and bowed. His tone was serious as he said, "Then I'm in your debt."

Well… this was starting to get pretty awkward. He shouldn't be bowing to me. "Don't bow to me… it feels strange. Besides, Rei saved my life too, so consider us even," I said nonchalantly.

He got up and grinned at me. He was wearing shades - why would he wear shades during the night? - and he had bright pink hair. He wasn't as tall as the other soldiers, but he had a gentleness that the other soldiers didn't have. "Piko. I'll remember that name. Rei told me a lot about you. How you were brave, how you saved his life, and how you even helped him escape. I'll have a good story to tell back home."

He abruptly yawned and walked towards the entrance of the tent. He rubbed his eyes and said, "You guys should sleep. I'm pretty sure that something big is gonna happen tomorrow. Thanks for visiting and introducing me to your friend, Rei. Good night." He entered the tent and disappeared from our view.

Rei happily said, "Good night, brother! Let's go to sleep now, Piko. I think Kizaito was right about tomorrow… something big is going to happen."

* * *

><p><em>BANG! <em>I was startled awake by a loud gunshot. Outside, I heard angry Japanese and German voices yelling. I was instantly on my feet, ready for anything to happen. I saw a figure quickly rush into the tent. It was Rei. I could tell by his smaller size and build. He pulled me out of the tent with him and ran, offering no explanation.

We eventually reached a large tent with Kiyoteru standing outside of it. When he saw us, he briskly said, "We're under attack by American forces. Rei, Piko, I want you two to stay in my tent during the battle. Only if you're under attack I want you to move." Kiyoteru looked at Rei and grimly said, "There's a gun inside my tent. I want you to only use it if you must." Kiyoteru turned to me and coldly said, "We are fighting your friends. However, this does not give you the right to attack us. If you do, we will not hesitate to kill you. If we even see you one step outside of my tent, one of us will find you and kill you. Only move if we are defeated by the enemies." He roughly shoved us towards the entrance of the tent and left, pulling out his binoculars and submachine gun.

We entered the tent, seeing as we had no other choice. The tent was nothing interesting. Just a bed, a table with some papers scattered on it, and a chair. I knew that nothing would be happening for a while, so I sat down on the bed, relaxing. Rei, however, kept on pacing and nervously looking at the entrance of the tent. I was starting to get bored, so I said, "How ya feeling, Rei?"

Rei stared at me as if I was some crazy person. He anxiously said, "Can you NOT hear the bullets and shouts? What if someone gets in here and attacks us? We'll be dead before we can even sa-"

"Rei. Calm. The hell. Down." I rudely cut him off. I sighed and said, "If someone did get in here, I doubt they would shoot two, unarmed kids."

Rei indignantly said, "I'm not a kid. I'm a teenager."

"Really? You act like a kid though. I'm pretty sure that I act older than you, and I bet I'm younger."

"Well, I'm fifteen, and I DON'T act like a kid."

"Thirteen." I let out a small grin as Rei huffed and sat down next to me on the bed. At least he wasn't acting nervous now. It was getting annoying. Suddenly, I realized that something was missing: the gunshots. Rei also realized this and got up to investigate. "Wait. This may only be a temporary ceasefire," I sharply said.

Right after I said that, Kiyoteru came into the tent. He looked at me and said, "That's good thinking, Piko, but the battle is over. You two can come out now." He stood next to the entrance, waiting for us to follow.

Rei ran out of the tent while I calmly walked to Kiyoteru. I could hear Rei's voice from outside saying, "Kizaito? Kizaito? Where are you?"

I looked at Kiyoteru and cautiously said, "How'd the battle go?"

He calmly said, "It went fine. There weren't any deaths, only wounds. The Allied forces were small in number, so we were able to…scatter them quickly." He hesitated for a little bit before saying scatter.

I bluntly said, "If you wanna say kill, then say kill."

He looked at me with a calculating gaze and said, "You're a unique one. Barely a teenager and yet, you act like you're much older."

"They were killed. It's the truth, and it shouldn't be hidden."

"Nii-san! You're fine!" In the distance, I saw Rei hugging Kizaito as Kizaito laughed and patted Rei's back.

I heard Kiyoteru let out a small laugh and said, "Those two are good brothers… I hope that Kizaito will be fine."

I thought about what he said before saying, "Why only Kizaito? Aren't you worried about Rei?"

He sounded disgusted as he said, "No, of course not. I'm going to make sure that he isn't sent out again… The other German officer sent him onto the battlefield, and look at what happened. It won't happen again." He looked around the camp and said, "Things are looking fine. Go back into the prisoner's tent."

I wordlessly walked back to the tent. As exciting as a war was, being a prisoner was no fun at all.

* * *

><p><span>Rei Point of View<span>

Nii-san was alive! We talked for a few minutes before saying that he had to go something. I didn't want him to go, but I left anyway. I rested for a little bit before going out for a walk. As I was walking, I heard the angered yells of the German and Japanese. I quickly hid behind a tent, not wanting to be a part of the fight, and looked at the crowd that was forming. There was a Japanese side and a German side, both sides yelling at each other. Of course, the yelling was pretty useless, considering the fact that both sides couldn't understand each other.

A harsh voice yelled from the back of the German crowd and the Germans parted. A teal haired man walked between the Germans while coldly glaring at the Japanese. I felt my heartbeat accelerate when I saw the teal haired man. He was Commander Hatsune of Germany. He was the German commander that understood both Japanese and German, and he was a scary man. He smiled cruelly at the Japanese soldiers and calmly said, "Where is he? The pink haired man." Kizaito? Why would he want Kizaito?

The Japanese soldiers stared at him, refusing to move. One of the Japanese soldiers, Lui Hibiki, stepped out and rudely said, "Why should we give him to you. He needs time to rest from his injury."

Commander Hatsune sneered and said, "He's been resting for over a week. His broken arm should be healed by now. I believe that he is just faking his injury in order to avoid combat. I wish to talk to him."

Lui said in a dangerously low voice, "Are you calling us liars?"

Commander Hatsune rolled his eyes and let out an overdramatic sigh. "If you didn't recognize it by now, yes, I am calling all of you Japanese liars. You're inferior to us. We German are never wrong."

The soldiers behind Lui all started to angrily yell when they heard this. Lui angrily said, "You overconfident bastards! The only reason you're still fighting is because we're still helping you."

Commander Hatsune's expression turned cold. He said in a barely restrained voice, "Give me…the pink haired man. Now!"

Lui's expression turned just as cold as Commander Hatsune's. "Fuck. You."

"Jeez, all of you are being so dramatic. Just give the poor man his talk." Nii-san suddenly stepped out from the Japanese crowd, grinning at Commander Hatsune.

Commander Hatsune's expression turned calm as he said, "Ah, so you have shown yourself. I WAS going to ask for a talk, but because your teammates were behaving so rudely towards me, you're going to die."

Before anyone could react, Commander Hatsune pulled out his revolver and shot Nii-san in the head. He fell backwards to the ground, empty eyes staring at nothing. He just shot Nii-san...He just shot Nii-san! I felt tears in my eyes as I ran towards the crowd. He couldn't be dead. My older brother was the strongest person in the world. He promised me he wouldn't die! I stumbled over to Kizaito's body and gently took his head in my arms, my tears falling onto his face. I felt my body slightly sway...Why? Why did he have to die?

I heard Commander Hatsune chuckle as he cruelly said, "Oh, the other Kagene sibling. Now I can kill him too for being a burden."

A shot rang out, but it was from the Japanese crowd. I heard Commander Hatsune gasp and fall down onto the ground. "What happened here?" Commander Kiyoteru's furious voice rang throughout the camp. I slowly looked up at him with tears dripping out of my eyes. His expression softened when he saw my face, but his gaze turned unmerciful when he looked at the German soldiers.

Lui stepped out and angrily said, "Mikuo wanted to see Kizaito because he believed that Kizaito was faking his broken arm injury. We refused to let him see Kizaito, but he came here by himself. The fool shot Kizaito before we could even do anything."

Commander Kiyoteru nodded once and said something in German. The German soldiers started yelling and pulling out their weapons. Commander Kiyoteru calmly said, "Fire." I felt a hand quickly cover my eyes before I heard gunshots. Someone gently helped me get up and led me away.

When the person removed his hand, I saw that we were in Commander Kiyoteru's tent. Sitting next to me on the bed was Piko. His expression was apathetic, but his eyes were sympathetic. He quietly said, "I saw what happened… I'm sorry for Kizaito." I tried to get up and run out there, but Piko grabbed my arm. "You shouldn't go out there. It's pretty messy." I broke free of his grip and ran out, not caring about what he said. Nothing was going to stop me from seeing Nii-san.

I ran over to the clearing in which Nii-san was killed. Along with his's dead body, there were the dead bodies of German soldiers. Blood coated the dusty ground, making it sticky and crimson. I didn't care about it as I knelt down next to Nii-san and gently lifted him up. Blood flowed out from the wound on his head, staining my clothes and turning them into a black color. I ignored the blood as I walked over to the medical tent. I was going to make sure that he reached Japan in order to have a proper funeral.

"Rei! Come back!" I heard Commander Kiyoteru's voice as he called out to me. I ignored him and went inside the tent. I put Nii-san's body down on a mat and wiped the blood flow, not caring that my hands were turning red. He was dead. I started to cry again as I stopped the bleeding coming from Kizaito's head. How was I going to tell mom…and dad…a-and Rui? Rui always loved Nii-san the most, and I knew that he loved Rui the most, even though he never said it.

I felt someone hug me from behind. Startled, I turned around to see Piko's sad, green and blue eyes looking at me. He silently shook his head and helped me clean Nii-san.

* * *

><p><span>Piko Point of View<span>

Two years ago, I was with Commander Honne. Two years ago, Commander Honne died. Two years ago, I met Rei and Kiyoteru. Two years ago, everything changed for me. It seemed like such a long time ago.

"Attention! Stand for Commander Leon!" A German soldier yelled, making all of us quickly get up. If we didn't stand fast enough, we would be whipped and beaten.

Commander Leon entered the room with a small, blonde boy. He shoved him into the room and stared at him like a piece of trash. The boy stumbled and tripped. He coldly said, "Another prisoner." He only said that and left the room, the German soldiers following him.

The boy lay there and didn't move. The boy didn't look healthy, but then again, none of us were healthy. He had dirty, blonde hair and pale skin. The rest of the prisoners groaned and weakly sat down, but they didn't help the boy. I went over to the boy and pulled him up. He had cold skin, and I could feel his body trembling. He tiredly looked up at me with his light blue eyes before falling over. I quickly caught him before he fell over and helped him sit down on the floor. Once he was sitting, I asked him, "What's your name?"

He coughed and answered in quiet voice, "Len Kagami. Thank you for helping me."

_Note: LEN HAS FINALLY JOIND THE STORY. So, hooray for that. And yes, I am a heartless person for killing of Kizaito like that.  
><em>_**Review button wants to know your criticism if you have any.  
><strong>_**VVV**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Note: Oh jeez...It's been way too long since I've updated this, and I apologize for that. I won't go on and on, but school kept me busy. Anyway, thanks to asianchibi99, AkiraneKiiro, wisarute7, SummerDaye, and PikoPiko-Chan (ANOTHER PIKO!) for reviewing._

_Chibi - -reads your review- It looks like Mikuo did a good job at being a jerk =P. And unfortunately for Rei, he WILL be getting in even more trouble._

_Kiiro - Why, thank you =P Hope you enjoy this chapter._

_Wisarute - Kizaito*, not Kazaito. And you had the SAME reaction Neon had when he read the chapter. He was also shocked that I killed Kizaito. Well...'shocked' wouldn't be the best word to describe it, but you get my point._

_Daye - It's even MORE Len. And here's your update...although, it wasn't updated too quickly.. Enjoy the chapter._

_Piko Chan - WWII stories = violence. Piko, unfortunately, will be suffering more. Much more. Piko's past isn't in this chapter, but it'll be revealed soon =P._

_On a completely unrelated note, HAPPY MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY EVERYONE. Well...in the U.S. at least._

_TY NEON 4 BETA'ING. _

**_Quick edit: Oh, and before I forget. Please consider checking out the "Vocaloid General Discussion" forums. The community there is kind, and it'd be nice if you guys/girls could try posting there. _**

**Disclaimer: Do I own Vocaloid? Is it safe to jump into a volcano?**

**_3/2/12 EDIT. PLEASE READ - I accidentally put Lui TWICE in the story...once as a soldier in the Japanese Army and once again in this chapter. I will be changing Lui in this chapter to Ren Haine. _**

Schutzstaffel = Protection Squadron (SS Officers, who are people above the normal rank of a German soldier.)

Hauptsturmführer = Captain

Kommandant = Commander

Piko Point of View

A few hours after Len's arrival, I heard loud noises outside of the barrack I was in. The door suddenly opened and revealed Kamui standing there. I covered my eyes and tried to pull the rags and blanket closer to my body as the light and cold air came into the room. He coldly stared at us and yelled in English, "Scum! Get up and meet in the working area within five minutes! You will be punished if you don't get there on time." Without another word, he slammed the door shut and put the room back in almost complete darkness.

Kamui was an SS Officer, second in command to Commander Leon. He was the cruelest, most feared, and most heartless out of all the officers. He often took away women he found attractive and raped them. After he was done, he would kill them. Along with being the highest ranking SS Officer, he was also in charge of the torture in the camp to prisoners of war. With his katana, he made the soldiers beg to be given the chance to tell their secrets. Whenever he killed anyone, he would hang their cut, mutilated body on the flagpole to serve as a warning to the prisoners.

I growled at the thought of Kamui and woke Len up. He groggily opened his eyes and slowly got up. He looked at me with a blank expression and said, "That was a strange dream… I thought that I was a priso-" He suddenly stopped talking as he realized where he was.

I grimly said, "This isn't a dream. Now, get up." I slowly staggered up and walked towards the door. As I was walking, I heard quiet sobbing behind me; I knew that it was Len. I hesitated before walking out the door and said, "You have three minutes… Get up or you'll get punished." I left Len there to cry and walked to the work area. He'll have to learn how to be tough if he wants to survive.

The work area was located outside of the first gate that surrounded the two prisoner's buildings, the two German soldiers' buildings, and the main building, which was where the SS Officers and Commander of the camp lived in. It took less than a minute to walk to. The work area had a second gate surrounding it in order to prevent prisoners from running away. There were more buildings with German soldiers in them scattered near the outside of the gate and guard towers located on every corner of the second gate.

I involuntarily shivered as the cold winter air of Norway blew over my poorly clothed and malnourished, skinny body. The rags I was given to wear barely retained any heat. I heard a cry of "wait!" from behind me. I stopped walking and turned around to see Len running up to catch up to me. I waited until he ran over to me. He took a moment to stop his panting and quietly said, "I… uhm… I don't know where to go."

Wordlessly, I pointed to the work area and started walking. Len walked next to me and said, "Thank you for helping me earlier." I kept on walking, not talking to him. I didn't mind that he was trying to start a conversation, but I try not to talk a lot. He shivered and said, "It's cold…" After some silence, he spoke again. "Why was the officer able to speak in English?"

I sighed at how persistent he was in trying to start a conversation. "First of all, his name is SS Officer Kamui. Don't forget that. He spoke in basic English, because Commander Leon, the leader of this camp, made it a requirement for all SS officers and German soldiers to learn basic English."

Len pondered about this for a moment and asked, "Why did the Commander make it required learn English?"

I shrugged and said, "Not sure."

The rest of our walk was silent. Len tried to start a conversation multiple times, but I decided to ignore him. When we got to the work area, I lined up with the rest of the prisoners. Len hesitantly looked at the line, and then stood next to me. Eventually, Kamui walked in front of us and looked at us. He sneered and said, "All of you will be digging more holes today. You will be escorted out of the camp. Don't try running away, or else…" He unsheathed his katana and stared at his reflection off of the blade. "…I'll tear you apart. Are we clear?"

Everyone responded with a "Yes, sir" and walked to the camp's gates. I bitterly spat on the ground. I cursed under my breath whenever I had to call Kamui "sir". He didn't deserve to be called "sir". Len tugged on my arm and fearfully said, "W-what's going to happen?"

I flatly said, "Pain."

* * *

><p>Damn Germans… I amused myself with thoughts of painful deaths for the Germans as I dug in the cold, hard, frozen soil. My hands and feet had multiple cuts, and my nails were broken from the objects in the soil, but I couldn't feel anything because my hands and feet were numb. My ears felt like they were on fire, but I ignored them. I paused to sneeze and tried in vain to warm myself. I stared at the soil and cursed at my luck. Out of all the fifteen year old boys out there, I was chosen to be stuck in fucking Hell on Earth.<p>

I grunted as I took out a rock and threw it out of the hole. I darkly smiled as I imagined the stone as a German's head. Around me, the other prisoners were in complete silence, quietly digging. The prisoners were separated into ten groups of thirty people each with fifteen soldiers for each group. The soldiers above us talked and laughed as they smoked and spat at us. Len was next to me, uselessly pawing at dirt. Judging by the pained look on his face, he must've been in pain from the cuts on his hands and feet like every other prisoner. He looked at me with wide eyes as if asking for help, but I ignored him. Feeling pity for anyone would only lessen my chances of survival. I had to look out for myself only.

"You! Prisoner number 300! Stop slacking off and get back to work!" The harsh voice of a German soldier was directed at Len. Len stopped looking at me and quickly went back to digging. The soldier went back to talking with his companions and ignored Len. All of the prisoners were given numbers, like Len was number 300. They did this in order so they wouldn't have to memorize any names.

I heard a high pitched sound in the distance and saw a flare go into the sky. The soldiers all looked towards something – probably the camp – and said to us, "Get your dirty, worthless bodies out of the hole. We're going back." Some of the prisoners groaned at the prospect of climbing out of the fifteen feet hole, but started climbing.

I was about halfway up the slanted slope of the hole, but a cry made me look back. I saw Len try to get out, but he kept on slipping and falling back into the hole. One of the guards saw this and nudged another guard. They both looked at him and started laughing at him. This caught the attention of the other guards, and eventually, they were all laughing. Len's face reddened and ducked his head; he tried to climb up faster, but it just resulted in him falling more.

I inwardly cursed at the German soldiers, Len, Hitler, anything I could think of, and slid back down into the hole. I grabbed Len's arm and pulled him up with me. When we got to the top, I pushed Len out of the hole. Suddenly, I felt a sudden, burning pain on my face, and I was falling back into the hole. Everything went black for a few seconds. When I regained my vision, I saw the guards laughing at me. Len was looking down at me with a panicked expression on his face until he saw me get up. He let out a sigh of relief and worriedly looked at me, biting his lip. The other prisoners were silently watching me, looking apathetically at me. That was normal though; we couldn't think about others.

I slowly got up and glared at the soldiers. They were too busy laughing to realize that I was glaring at them. Luckily, the guard kicked my forehead. If he had broken my nose, it would've been a lot more painful and bloody. I tried to climb up, but I felt dizzy and tripped, landing face first. I couldn't help but let out a cry of pain when I fell. I punched the ground as I thought about how weak I must've looked. I heard someone slide back down the hole, and suddenly, I felt a gentle hand help me up. I looked up and saw Len, a determined expression on his face as he tried to climb up the hole with me on his back. I tried to shove him away, but I felt too weak to move. Eventually, Len had somehow managed to get me out of the hole. The guards cruelly laughed and forced both of us to get up, prodding us with their rifles.

The guards abruptly stopped and stared at something in the distance. They suddenly let out a startled sound and ran past Len and me. I pushed myself off Len and unsteadily got up. I turned around to look at where the guards went and saw them standing in a line, saluting a figure in all black. The normal guards' uniforms were a beige color, so this guy was probably important. He also wore a cap, which was something the other guards didn't have on.

Everything was completely silent as the man in black walked up to us. I couldn't tell a lot about him, but he had black hair and didn't look like he was over twenty, which shocked me. How could someone that wasn't even an adult be so important? He stopped in front of us and quietly said in English, "Line up." He spoke fluently, but he had a slight Japanese accent. Even though he was speaking quietly, I could tell that he was dangerous.

We quickly lined up in front of him. He looked at each of us with a scrutinizing gaze. He slightly frowned when he saw Len. He probably thought that Len was too weak to work. He slightly shook his head and looked at me. The first thing I noticed were his serious, dark amber eyes. It's been a while since I've seen amber eyes… In fact, I only know one person that has amber eyes, but he's dead. His gaze turned cold as he looked at me. He turned away and pointed at a soldier. "You! What's your name?" He yelled in a slightly louder, but still quiet voice.

He looked startled for a second, but he said, "My name is Tonio, Hauptsturmführer."

The man in black nodded and said, "I want to speak with Kommandant Leon immediately." The soldier, Tonio, saluted the man and went back to camp. The man looked satisfied as he examined the person next to me. As he slowly went down the line, I couldn't help but feel some fear as I remembered the man's cold, piercing gaze as he looked at me. Why did he ask to see Commander Leon after seeing me?

* * *

><p>After we marched back to the prison camp, we were told to line up in the work area once again for a meeting. The SS Officers were in a half circle facing us. Everyone nervously looked around, trying not to shrink back away from the officers. A meeting was only called when someone was about to die. Len seemed immune to the atmosphere and blankly stared at the ground as he mechanically clenched and unclenched his hands.<p>

"Attention." Commander Leon's deep, commanding voice rang loudly throughout the camp, quickly silencing everyone. Everyone watched as he and the man in black walked into the center of the area. Commander Leon, instead of his normal, beige uniform, wore a crisp, all black uniform, similar to the other man's uniform. The two men – the unknown man wasn't actually a man but close enough – stood next to each other as they looked at us. "This is Captain Kagene. He is to be treated with as much respect as I, even if he is young."

I almost collapsed onto the ground out of shock when I heard the name "Kagene". Black hair, amber eyes, young age… There were too many similarities for this to be a coincidence. He was Rei Kagene, but he wasn't Rei. Rei couldn't have survived. How could he have survived?

Kagene stepped forward and quietly said, "I will be your captain for as long as I am needed here. I expect to be treated with respect by all of you." He stepped back and allowed Commander Leon to speak.

Commander Leon nodded his approval and said, "Hauptsturmführer Kagene, these are Schutzstaffel Kamui," Kamui respectfully saluted to Kagene, "and Schutzstaffel Shion." The said officer took off his cap and did a small bow. I saw Len gasp and take a step back when Commander Leon mentioned Officer Shion.

I quickly grabbed his shoulder and steadied him before returning to my original position of standing straight up with my hands by my side.

Commander Leon snapped his head and scanned the prisoners to try to find out who made the noise. Kagene quietly coughed and muttered something to him. Commander Leon hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded.

An SS Officer with cherry red hair stepped forward. His hair was pulled back, and the back of his hair reached slightly below his neck. He had a cap pulled down low so it covered his eyes, and the shadow of his cap covered most of his face. After standing still and staring at the ground for a few seconds, he took off his cap and said with a faint Japanese accent, "My name is Schutzstaffel Furukawa. I am here with Hauptsturmführer Kagene." I blinked in surprise when I heard his – or rather, her – voice. She looked to be about my age, perhaps a little bit older, and had serious, light blue eyes with a neutral expression. Kamui took a step back in surprise, his hand immediately doing down to the hilt of his katana. SS Officer Shion's normal, calm expression turned into one of shock when he heard the female SS officer speak.

The prisoners' quiet whispers quickly filled the silence around me as they talked to each other, occasionally looking back at the female officer. Furukawa calmly stood there, glaring at anyone that looked at her.

"Silence!" Commander Leon's voice seemed to echo throughout the camp, effectively stopping all conversation. He glared at everyone and pushed up his glasses. He let the camp remain silent for a few seconds before saying, "She will be your new SS Officer, along with SS Officers Kamui and Shion. Dismissed." He walked away towards the main building, not bothering to enforce his order. SS Officer Shion, who was one looking at Commander Leon, turned around and looked directly at Len. He smirked and followed Leon to the main building. Len was staring at his back, shaking. His fists were tightly clenched as his side, and he had an expression of anger and fear. What about SS Officer Shion had scared Len so much?

Before I could ask Len, Kamui mockingly said, "Why would a _girl_ like you be chosen to be a Schutzstaffel?" The prisoners that had begun to leave stopped walking and turned to look at Kamui.

The female officer ignored him and said, "Hauptsturmführer, when will we be going to talk to Kommandant Leon?" The atmosphere got tense as the prisoners quietly began to talk to each other in shocked voices. No one ignored Kamui and got away unhurt.

"Soon."

"SCUM! Don't ignore me!" Kamui furiously yelled. He quickly unsheathed his katana and swung it overhead at Furukawa. There was a flash of black and the loud, echoing sounds of metal striking metal. Kamui was staring at the figure in front of him with wide eyes. His expression turned into one of surprise and fear as he stared at Kagene's disapproving face.

Kagene had quickly stepped between the two SS Oficers as Kamui swung his sword and pulled his revolver out of its hoister and used the gun's barrel to block the katana from slashing Furukawa. He stared up into Kamui's eyes, amber eyes clashing with dark blue eyes. Slowly, he reached up and grabbed the blade; he pushed the blade away from him and put his revolver away. Even though the black haired teen was at least five inches shorter than the tall, purple haired man, he seemed to tower over the taller officer. "Are you a fool? Do you have no shame in attacking your teammate?"

Kamui recoiled at Kagene's words. He shakily took a step back and whispered, "I…I apologize for my rudeness, sir." His face looked pained as he said the word "sir".

Furukawa, who was silent throughout the ordeal, was staring at the now sheathed katana. Her face was blank as she stood still, but her hands were shaking.

Kagene took a quick look at her and calmly said, "Apologize. Now." His voice, while calm was also dangerous and threatening.

Kamui must've also realized that Kagene was dangerous quickly said, "Hauptsturmführer Kagene, I apologize for my miscondu-"

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to the one you almost killed."

He turned to Furukawa and was about to speak, but when he noticed the prisoners around him, he glared and snarled, "What are you scum looking at? GET BACK INTO YOUR BARRACKS!"

Everyone quickly scattered and went into their barracks. I began walking away from Kamui and smirked. That bastard deserved this. As I was walking, I realized that the familiar blonde boy wasn't next to me. I looked back and saw Len standing still, staring at the main building. I quickly walked back to him and roughly pulled him with me and entered the barracks.

Once we got inside, I sat down with Len on the floor and angrily yelled, "Why didn't you move? You could've been punished if you stayed there." The prisoners, who were once talking to each other or trying to sleep, turned to look at me when I began yelling.

He shakily looked up at me and said, "Kaito."

Suddenly, the door opened and SS officer Shion came in. The atmosphere of the room immediately became tense when the prisoners saw the blue haired officer walk into the room. They all warily looked at him as he set down the cardboard box he was carrying. Without having to look, I knew that there was food inside the box. SS Officer Shion always brought the food for the prisoners. He ignored the prisoners' looking at him and dropped the box in the middle of the room.

As he silently walked to the door, some of the prisoners stood up and rushed to the box and tried to open it. Before he left, he turned to Len and me and smiled at us, but it was mostly directed towards Len. The boy next to me shivered when he saw this and moved closer to me. The SS Officer turned his attention to me for a few seconds before leaving the room, taking the tension away with him.

When the SS Officer left, I asked Len, "Who's Shion?"

He nervously looked at the door and said, "The blue haired officer. Shion, Kaito."

"So what about him?" I impatiently looked at Len as he decided between telling me and not telling me. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again.

He did this a few more times before he looked at the ground and quietly said, "It's nothing."

Like Hell it was nothing, but I really didn't care if he didn't want to talk. I shrugged and said, "Alright then." I got up and walked over to the small line of prisoners that had formed near the box as Len and I was talking.

The line quickly moved as each prisoner received their portion of the food from Ren, the 'leader' of the prisoners. When I went up to him to get my food, the black haired, older teen sympathetically said, "How's the kid?"

Ren was Japanese, like Len and me. No one knew why he had been sent to the prison camp. He was older than me and was the 'leader' even before I arrived at the prison camp. I shrugged and said, "He's scared by Shion, but he's fine."

He gave me two slices of bread and some water in a dirty, tin cup and said in a concerned voice, "Make sure he eats. Should I go talk to him?"

I didn't really care about Len, but if Ren wanted to talk to him, then I saw no problem with that. "Why're you asking me?

"It just felt right asking you. After all, don't you want to talk to your friend?"

I emotionlessly said, "Friend? He isn't my friend. I have no friends here."

Ren frowned and said, "I think you're my friend. Even though we don't talk a lot, I think you're a good person."

I wordlessly turned away and walked back to Len. _I think you're my friend. _Friends? There couldn't be any friends in a prison camp; everyone only had enemies, not friends. I couldn't help but hear a small part of me hopefully say, '_He could be a friend.' _I scowled as I gave Len his slice of bread and the cup of water. He wasn't a friend. He could actually be planning to kill me in my sleep, and I'd never know.

"Thanks." Surprised by Len's voice, I looked down and saw him hungrily eating the bread. He took a big gulp of water before he quickly took it away from his mouth and sheepishly said, "Uhm…do you want some water?"

I shook my head and said, "I'll get more water after you're done." He looked like he was ready to protest, but he changed his mind and drank all the water.

I slowly nibbled on my piece of bread as I watched Len hopefully look around for more food. I deliberately turned away from him and stared at the ceiling as I ate. I could feel Len's wide eyes staring at me. He was NOT getting my bread. He has to get used to the camp conditions. However, as Len stared at me eating my food, I began to feel a little guilty. My resistance finally crumbled, and I ripped off half of my piece of bread. I shoved the half piece of bread into his face and mumbled, "Don't get used to this. It's only happening today."

Len gratefully took the bread and said, "Thank you." He gave me a small smile and began eating. Despite all the thoughts I had about regretting giving the piece of bread to him, I couldn't help but allow myself to smile a bit. That was the first, real smile he had since I've seen him.

* * *

><p>All the lights in the camp suddenly went off. Len, who was laying down next to me, quickly bolted up and looked at the door. I, on the other hand, remained laying on the ground. The lights automatically went out in the camp at 10 P.M. Only the main building had its lights on.<p>

I tapped the panicked boy's leg and said, "Calm down. This is normal."

He let out an audible sigh of relief before settling down next to me on the hard, wooden floor. As I felt myself drift off to sleep, I heard Len quietly say, "He was my friend."

I sighed and tiredly said, "What're you talking about?"

He looked at me with wide, light blue eyes and said, "Kaito. Before everything the war began, he was my friend. I considered him my older brother."

I remained silent, waiting for Len to continue speaking. He took a deep breath and continued speaking. "One year ago, when the war was in progress, I was captured. My parents and I had been in Japan; the war had made Japan's economy bad. We tried to live by taking all kinds of jobs, and we barely had enough money to buy food each day."

Len paused and looked at me, seeing if I had anything to say. After I said nothing he continued, "One day at work, my dad met some German soldiers. The soldiers were in Japan for a meeting with the Prime Minister. The soldiers asked him to salute to Hitler, but my dad refused. The Prime Minister made it clear to listen to the Germans if they were asked to salute Hitler, but my dad didn't care. When the Germans tried to take my dad away, Hideki Tojo, the Prime Minister, questioned the Germans as to why they did it. They argued and there eventually was a trial for my dad. They called witnesses and looked at my dad's records. He never did anything wrong, so his record was clean. However, they called Kaito to answer questions about my family. He was a long time friend of the family, so he knew a lot about us. When they began to question him, he made up lies about how we were plotting to overthrow the Japanese government. The Japanese government decided to believe him and allowed for the German soldiers to take away my family."

I gritted my teeth in anger when I heard what Kaito did. Why would he betray Len? Len took a shuddering breath and quickly wiped his eyes. He continued telling his story. "After that…I was taken to this camp. My dad and mom…I never saw them again." He suddenly stopped talking as he turned away and tried to suppress his sobbing.

I thought about what he told me. He was betrayed by his friend, his older brother. I closed my eyes and tried to think logically. So, he was betrayed by his friend, and his family was separated. He wasn't the only person to be betrayed by others. _But he's so young…_ So what? I'm not young? Rei wasn't young? _He isn't used to this. _I wasn't used to war and death in the beginning. He has to get used to it._ You want to protect him._ After I realized this, I found that I had no way to respond. I always said that I had to care for myself only, but I couldn't help and pity Len.

After a few minutes of hearing Len's quiet sobbing, I stiffly reached up and put an arm around Len. Before he could do anything, I pulled him close to me and pulled the blanket up to cover more of his body. His sobbing eventually came to stop and was replaced by the steady, calm breaths of a peaceful sleep. I brought my mouth close to his ear and said, "My name is Utatane, Piko." For some off reason, I found it easier to sleep tonight than any other night of my life.

_Note: WHY DID THAT LAST SCENE FEEL SO CLICHE TO WRITE? Oh well. As usual, reviews and criticism are always welcome.  
><strong>Review button is bored.<br>**_**VVV**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 - Kagene Chapter (This chapter CAN be skipped and is NOT related to the main plot in any way.)**

_Note: I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN SUCH A LONG TIME! I've just been busy and everything. I really do regret not having updated this in over a month. Well, anyway, thanks to asianchibi99, AkiraneKiiro, and Kakumei's Voice for reviewing._

_Chibi - Kaito deserves something bigger than a shoe to be thrown at him. Like a grenade. _

_Kiiro - There's a backstory to everything. Unfortunately, Kaito's backstory won't be explained in this chapter =P_

_Kakumei - Your review really did make me happy. Thanks for the compliment, but there are definitely writers our there better than me. Check out some of my Favorite Stories section if you want some really good Vocaloid authors. _

_Thanks for beta reading this long chapter, Neon._

**_IMPORTANT NOTE. PLEASE READ - I accidentally used Lui twice in this story. Once, he was a soldier serving in the Japanese army in chapter 3, and the next, he was a prisoner chapter 5. I apologize for this mistake. Instead of Lui in chapter 5, he will be replaced by Ren Haine. Thank you for reading. _**

Nii-san = Shorter for "Onii-san", which is what a younger sibling would call their older sibling

-Chan = Normally used for girls or someone close. It can also be used with young children.

-Kun = Normally used for male children or male teenagers.

Oto-san = Father

Okka-san = Mother

Kaa-san = Wife

-San = Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms.

_**January 5, 1939 **_

Rei Point of View

I watched the snow slowly drift down from the sky as the teacher lectured about history. History was my favorite subject at school, but the snow was mesmerizing to watch as they slowly fell down and hit the ground…one…by one…by one…by one…

"Stand." I was pulled out of my trance by the teacher, who was getting ready to leave. I quickly stood up and hoped that the teacher didn't see me daydream. "Bow." Letting out a sigh of relief, I silently thanked whatever deity was looking over me and bowed. "Class dismissed."

I grabbed my bag and put on my jacket. Ignoring the talk of the students around me, I stepped outside and admired the Christmas decorations all around the outside of the school. Christmas had recently passed, and the school still had its decorations up. Nii-san, Rui, and I didn't exchange any gifts, but we didn't care about gifts.

I shivered when I felt the cold, winter air breeze against my ears. I pulled my jacket closer to me, thankful for the warmth of my uniform. The school winter uniform had long, black dress pants, a long sleeve black shirt, and a white tie. The uniform was the same for the girls, except they wore a dress. The clothes were expensive, but they were warm.

Eventually, I reached to the school gate and immediately saw the person I was looking for. "Nii-san!" I energetically ran over to him as I waved. He was dressed in his usual brown, cotton pants, red t-shirt, white trench coat, and black sunglasses. The snow was messily scattered over his light pink hair. He grinned at me and held out his arms, preparing for the inevitable. I beamed at Nii-san as I ran and jumped into his arms when I got close enough, enveloping him in a hug. He let out an audible grunt and patted me on the back.

He stopped grinning and frowned as he said, "Don't you think you're getting too old for that? You're a teenage boy."

I looked up at him and happily said, "But I like doing this!"

He stared at me for a few seconds with a stony, disapproving expression on his face, but he eventually grinned and said, "Don't ever grow up, Rei-Rei." Rei-Rei was Nii-san's nickname for me ever since I was little. I didn't really like it, but it was fine whenever Nii-san used it.

I frowned and said in my best angry voice, "My…name...is…Rei-kun!" With each word, I hit him on the chest. He just laughed and held up his hands in a sign of defeat.

"Alright, alright! I meant Rei-kun." I stopped hitting him and grinned, feeling victorious.

I looked up at his hair and giggled. "Your hair looks funny with the snow on it."

He pretended to look offended and said, "My hair is beautiful! It looks cool, not funny." As if to prove his point, he flamboyantly flipped the bangs of his hair out of his eyes. "No one can resist my hair."

I laughed and said, "But your hair is pink, Nii-san! It looks funny!"

Nii-san let out a fake sob before collapsing onto the ground. He looked towards the sky and said, "What has this world come to? My younger brother is making fun of my hair now! My heart has been torn out…" he dramatically paused before pointing to me and yelling, "..by you!"

"Nii-san! Rei-kun!" I focused my attention away from Nii-san and saw Rui lightly jogging towards us.

I enthusiastically waved at her. Nii-san casually got up and brushed himself off. She came over and hugged him, but she did it much more calmly than I did. Excitedly, I said, "Rui-chan! The snow looks so nice!"

She let go of Nii-san and hugged me with a small smile on her face. "Yes, it does look nice. How was your day at school today?"

"It was fun! But I couldn't wait to leave school because it's snowing." I collapsed onto the ground and started to roll around. I enjoyed the cold feeling of snow against my body.

Nii-san chuckled and gently said, "ReiRei, we should go." I stubbornly shook my head and kept on rolling.

Rui sighed and said, "I guess we'll have to wait for ReiRei to finish until we can go home and make hot cocoa."

When I heard the word 'hot cocoa', I hastily got up and began pulling on Rui and Nii-san's arms. "Come on! Let's go home already!"

Nii-san put a gentle hand on my shoulder and soothingly said, "Calm down. We have plenty of time."

I stopped pulling them, but I still wanted to go home and make hot chocolate. Hot chocolate was the best!

I heard Rui giggle and say, "Rei-kun, you'll be tired by the time you get home if you keep on running ahead of us."

I pouted and indignantly said, "I'm a grown man. I won't be tired by some running."

She smiled and said, "Of course you're a grown man." It sounded like she was stopping herself from laughing when she said that.

Suspiciously, I asked, "Are you teasing me?"

She innocently looked up and said, "Of course not." I looked at her for a few more seconds before going back to running ahead of them.

I impatiently jumped up and down and said, "Come on! I wanna drink hot cocoa already!"

* * *

><p>Our house was a simple place. It was small, but it was comfortable. It was a solitary house, far away from the town. The house was almost always quiet and peaceful because of how far away it was, but it also got boring because no one ever visited. Well, Meiko-san visited from time to time, but she didn't come too often.<p>

After returning from school and doing homework, Nii-san, Rui, and I were sitting around the fireplace, each of us with a steaming mug of hot cocoa in our hands. It was evening, and the darkness beginning to cover everything. I was quickly drinking my hot cocoa, trying to finish as fast as possible so I could have more. It was the best drink ever in the winter, and winter won't last for too long. I had to drink as much as possible before winter ended!

Nii-san warily said, "Rei-Rei…maybe you should drink more slowly. You could choke."

I placed my cup down and stubbornly said, "I have to drink as much as possible." I brought up my mug again and gulped down the rest of my hot cocoa. I held it out and said, "More please."

He took my mug and sternly said, "This is your final mug. You've already have three mugs, and I want to make sure you'll be able to sleep."

I nodded and held out my hands, eagerly watching the tasty drink fall into my cup. After I got my mug back from Nii-san, I immediately began to drink.

Other than the occasional crackling of the firewood or the sip of hot cocoa, the house had a peaceful, silent atmosphere.

Rui was sitting next to me on the rug as she stared into the fire. Her cup of hot cocoa was mostly untouched. Nii-san was sitting on the couch, reading a thick and difficult looking book. He had taken off his jacket and put on his reading glasses instead of his sunglasses.

Suddenly, Nii-san quietly said, "Do both of you remember Okka-san and Oto-san? How we all used to sit together by the fire?"

I choked on my hot cocoa before coughing and clearing my throat. Rui stared into the fire with an unreadable expression on her face and gently said, "The last time we saw them was when Rei-kun and I were eight years old. It's only been five years... I remember them. I remember how Okka-san used to play the violin as Oto-san played the piano."

I glanced at the piano in the corner of the room, remembering how dad used to try to teach me how to play. No matter how many times I messed up, he would always motivate me to try again. I sadly sighed, remembering mom and dad.

* * *

><p><span>5 Years Earlier…<span>

"Rei, try playing this scale again. It's easy." A big hand gently wrapped around my wrist and brought it back to the keys of the piano.

I looked and sleepily said, "But Oto-san, I'm tired. I wanna go to sleep."

He sat down next to me and whispered, "Just play this scale once more, and I'll make you cookies tomorrow. Just don't tell Okaa-san." I brightened up at the prospect of cookies and looked at the sheet music once more. C...E…G…B...D…F…A…C. I took my hands off the keys, satisfied with my playing.

Oto-san smiled at me and happily said, "Good job, Rei! Now go get ready for bed. I'll be upstairs with mommy after you and Rui get in bed."

I jumped off the chair and scrambled upstairs to brush my teeth. I heard Oto-san chuckling as he watched me run off.

After I finished washing up, I went to my bedroom. Rui was already in bed; she was reading a book. I jumped next to her in the bed and said, "Rui-chan! Oto-san is going to make us cookies tomorrow."

She perked up in surprise and lowered her book. "Really? Why?"

Grinning triumphantly, I proudly said, "I played the piano good!"

"The proper word is 'well', not 'good'. Don't forget that, Rei-kun."

I stuck my tongue out at her. "I knew that."

She picked up her abandoned book and began to read it again, already lost in its pages.

"Rui? Rei? Are both of you in bed?" Okka-san's soft voice flowed into the room. She walked into the room and sat down next to us on the bed. She gently scolded Rui when she saw her reading. "Rui, it's late. Go to bed."

Rui obediently closed the book and put it on the shelf. Okka-san reached up to Rui's head and untied her white ribbon. She placed it on the small table next to the bed and said, "Sleep. It'll be school tomorrow, and you two don't want to wake up late." She kissed Rui and me on our heads as we simultaneously said good night.

After she had left the room, I wasn't able to sleep. Rui was peacefully sleeping next to me, but all I was able to do was stare at the dark ceiling. I didn't know it back then, but something bad was going to happen after I went to sleep.

_A few hours later..._

"Wake up! Rei-kun! Rui-chan!" I blearily opened my eyes to see Nii-san above Rui and me. His skin was dripping with sweat as he desperately shook us awake. I slowly got up and stared blankly at Nii-san. Rui-chan was also awake, but she also looked panicked as she looked around. Why did they both look so scared?

"Nii-san, what's so scary?" I drowsily asked. I began to hear a crackling noise from somewhere in the house, and it smelled like something was burning.

He urgently looked behind him and grabbed Rui and me. I looked at him, confused, but I didn't try to resist him. He said, "Hold on." With Rui over one shoulder and me over the other, he ran towards the window of our room.

I began struggling in his grip and wailed, "Nii-san! Are you trying to kill us?" Rui didn't try to struggle, but I could tell she was surprised as she was limp in his grip.

Nii-san just said, "Brace yourselves." I began struggling even more, desperate to get out of his grip. Suddenly, the world went black.

_Later..._

"…ei-kun! Rei-kun! Wake up!" said a rough, panicked voice. I quickly woke up and tried to jump to my feet, but I felt someone restraining me.

I began to struggle as I cried out, "Oto-san! Okka-san! Nii-san! Help!"

"Rei-kun, stop moving! It's Nii-san!" I stopped struggling and looked up to see to see Nii-san's face. He looked tired, and there were black spots on his face. His sunglasses were also missing.

Why did he look so tired? What happened? I looked around me and realized that we weren't in our house. We were in someone else's house. Wait…where was Rui? I frantically shook Nii-san's arm and said, "Where's Rui-chan?"

He pointed to the bed next to me and said, "She's sleeping."

I calmed down, but something still wasn't right. "Nii-san…where's Oto-san and Okka-san?"

He looked at the ground and didn't say anything. I felt myself begin to panic as I said, "Nii-san? They're fine…right? Where are they?"

He looked up at me and hesitantly said, "Rei-kun…they're gone now."

Obliviously, I asked, "Where? Where'd they go?"

He looked down at the ground before saying, "Rei-kun…there's a time in life…and…" He stopped talking and took a deep breath. I waited for him to say something as he remained motionless. Slowly, he raised his head and determinedly looked into my eyes. The next two words that came out of his mouth were going to change my life forever. Gently, he said, "They're dead."

I starred at Nii-san uncomprehendingly. What did he mean when he said that? They weren't dead. They were downstairs. Oto-san was reading a book like always, and Okka-san was knitting or writing a story. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and lightly said, "What do you mean? They're downstairs right now."

An unfamiliar, feminine voice said, "Kid, they're dead. Dead as in not breathing, not living, not alive."

Nii-san turned to the door and pleadingly said, "Please, Meiko-san, don't say it like that! Allow me to explain it to him."

The woman, who I'm guessing was Meiko-san, shook her head and almost sadly said, "No. You won't be able to tell him properly. You're too soft on the kid." She strode over to the bed and stood at the side of the bed. She bluntly said, "I'm gonna be straightforward, kid. You're parents are dead. You will never see them again, and they're going to be buried tomorrow."

With each word, I began to realize what happened. My parents were gone forever, and they wouldn't come back. I tried to deny it as I shook my head. "No, they aren't dead. They're downstairs right now. Oto-san! Okka-san!"

"They won't be here. Not now, not ever. Now quiet down, your sister is still sleeping."

I began to panic and tried to get out of the bed. I desperately said, "No! You're lying! They aren't dead!"

Nii-san suddenly hugged me and prevented me from moving. I tried to get out of his grip, even trying to punch him, but it was useless. He remained still and kept on hugging me. I slowly stopped struggling as I realized the truth: I would never see Oto-san or Okka-san again. They would never be with me ever again. I began sobbing into Nii-san's shirt as he tightly hugged me.

* * *

><p>I quietly stared into the fire. A solemn, sad mood settled over the house as the fire loudly crackled throughout the room. "I remember… I remember how Oto-san used to teach me how to play the piano," I sadly said. I kept on playing the piano, even after Oto-san died. He would be proud of me if he found out how good I had gotten.<p>

Rui got up and quietly said, "I'm going upstairs now. Good night, Nii-san." He slightly nodded his head but kept his eyes fixed on the fire. After she got up and left, I began drinking the rest of my hot cocoa. It left a sweet, pleasant taste, but I couldn't get myself to enjoy it.

Nii-san whispered, "Rei-kun… You should go to bed now." I quickly got up and went upstairs. Whenever Nii-san spoke like that, he was mad. He tried not to show it, but I could tell that he wanted to be left alone.

_The Next Day..._

"…Class dismissed." I sighed and left the room, anxious to go home. It was another hard day at school, but it was finally over. I went outside and expected to see Nii-san. Instead, I saw Rui waiting at the front gates.

I ran over to her and curiously asked, "Rui-chan, where's Nii-san?"

She worriedly said, "I don't know. He's always here. "

This was the first time I heard Rui so worried. Did something happen? I couldn't help but remember the fire that killed Oto-san and Okka-san all those years ago. Nii-san and Rui knew what was happening while I didn't know what was happening. Something was wrong. Wordlessly, I gently gripped Rui's arm and began walking home.

The walk home was silent. I focused on going home as fast as possible while trying to look calm. Rui may have acted more mature than me, but I was still the older brother. I should always be there to be a model for my younger sister whenever there's trouble.

When we were almost home, I heard the sound of rushing footsteps behind me. "Hey, you two," Nii-san enthusiastically said, "I was looking for you at school!"

Rui and I both turned around to see Nii-san rushing towards us. I heard Rui let out a sigh of relief. I allowed myself to relax and happily said, "Nii-san! Rui and I were worried about you when you didn't show up at school."

He chuckled and said, "Sorry for worrying you two. I was off doing an errand. How was school?"

I was about to respond, but Rui walked up to Nii-san. She silently stood in front of him, eyes staring at the ground. Nii-san and I questioningly looked at each other as we waited for her to do something. Slowly, she raised her arms and kept it there.

Surprise came into Nii-san's eyes as he looked at Rui. He walked over to her and hugged her. Rui rarely hugged anyone, even Nii-san and me; it was surprising for her to voluntarily hug someone. She quietly said, "I was worried for you… I thought you were gone."

Nii-san stepped back and crouched, taking off his shades as he did so she could see his eyes. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have mentioned them." We all knew that he meant Oto-san and Okka-san when he said 'them'.

Rui tightly gripped Nii-san for a few seconds before letting go and sadly said, "Be careful." She retreated into the house but not before she mournfully looked back at Nii-san and me.

I was about to follow Rui into the house, but Nii-san's serious voice stopped me. "We need to talk." I turned around and looked at him, waiting for him to talk. He continued, "Soon, something bad may be happening, and I may have to leave."

Nii-san? Why would he leave us? I began to tense as I said, "Where? Why do you have to leave us? Don't you KNOW how it feels to be alone? I thought you loved Rui and me!" I realized that I was beginning to yell, but I was beyond caring.

He sounded distressed as he said, "Rei-kun, please calm down. I never said that I had to go."

"Where're you going then? Tell me!"

He was quiet for a few seconds until he said, "Go inside. You and Rui-chan both have to hear what I'm about to say."

I wanted to say something, but I couldn't find the words to say when I looked at Nii-san's desperate face. "…Fine. Just make sure you tell Rui-chan and me. We're both worried about you." He silently nodded and walked into the house, leaving me out in the cold snow to think about what he just said.

Was Nii-san sick? Maybe he had to go to the hospital. Or maybe he was tired of us and wanted to leave us. No! He would never leave Rui and me alone. He loves us…right? I felt myself begin to shake as I thought about the last suggestion. He wouldn't leave us… "Rei-kun! Come inside now. Rui-chan is waiting for you." With the last thought on my mind, I went into the house.

Nii-san was sitting on the couch, and Rui was sitting in front of the fire place on the floor. I silently came in and sat down next to Rui, waiting to hear what Nii-san had to say. He placed his shades on the desk and solemnly said, "There is a reason for me possibly going away. Japan has recently been helping Germany in its attempts to take over Europe. I think that Japan will soon go to war, and I may be drafted."

All I could do was blankly stare at Nii-san. There were rumors going around about Japan and Germany at school, but I didn't actually think they were true. Rui said nothing and left the room. After a few moments, I heard the sound of a door closing. Nii-san tightly gripped his pants and looked at me as if begging for a reaction.

Suddenly, the front door flew open and a certain brunette woman walked in. Meiko kicked off her shoes at the mat and plopped down next to Nii-san on the couch as she grinned, oblivious to the tension in the air. She leaned back and lazily said, "What's up?"

I got up and slowly said to Nii-san, making sure he heard my every word, "I won't let that happen." I went to my bedroom and left behind a Nii-san with a confused Meiko.

In the background, I could hear Meiko asking Nii-san questions, but he didn't say anything. When I got to my room, I gently knocked on the door, not wanting to disturb Rui. When I received no response, I entered the room. Rui was laying facedown on the bed as she quietly sobbed into a pillow.

I walked up to the bed and sat down next to her. As I took untied her ribbon from her head, I soothingly placed a hand on her back. She turned up and looked at me with tears dripping down her face. Gently, I pulled her up and hugged her, letting her cry into my shirt. I quietly said, "Don't worry. We'll all be fine…you, me, Nii-san. We'll find a way out of this." As I said this, I couldn't help but wonder if I really was right.

Kizaito Point of View

"Seriously, kid, what's wrong? You guys get in an argument or something?" I really appreciated Meiko trying to help me, but she was starting to get annoying.

I let out a sigh and said, "First of all, I'm not a kid. You're only five years older than me. Second of all, I think you should leave."

She stubbornly glared at me and said, "You know that I care about those kids as much as you do, so stop being such a girl and answer the question!"

I let out a small grin and said, "Stop being a girl? Are you saying that girls are cowards?"

"'Course I am. Except me. Now tell me what the problem is." This woman never gives up, does she?

I let out another sigh and said, "You're so stubborn… I told them about the war."

Meiko instantly stopped pestering me and turned more sympathetic. "Oh… Do they already know that you have to go?"

"They probably guessed that I had to go to war. You haven't changed your mind on the offer, have you?"

She looked like she had just been slapped as she indignantly said, "Hell no! I'll always help you out when you need it."

I chuckled and felt a little happy. Good, so she was still keeping her end of the promise. Rei and Rui would be able to be with someone they can trust. The room was silent as I stared into the fire and as Meiko leaned back, drinking some water.

"Tomorrow, will you be showing the two my house?"

I nodded and said, "Yes. I'll tell them tomorrow and bring them to your house. I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. I know that I can trust them with you."

She scooted closer to me and said, "You better come back alive or else I'll have to find you and drag you back home." She gently placed a kiss on my cheek and said, "Good bye, Kizaito-kun. Keep what's precious to you safe." I was stupidly staring into the fire as Meiko got up and left the house.

When I heard the sound of a car pulling away, I finally brought my hand up to my cheek, still not believing what just happened. She kissed me… Why? She never did that before. I groaned and lay down on the couch, confused about what just happened. As I stared at the plain, white ceiling, I couldn't help but feel a little happy. I sighed and closed my eyes. Meiko, you just gave me a LOT more to think about.

Rei Point of View

The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual. The sun still didn't rise when I had gotten up. Rui was next to me, sleeping peacefully. Good. After last night, it was important that she got some rest.

I quietly got up and tip toed out the door. I went downstairs to see Nii-san sleeping on the couch with his book open and over his face. As I looked at him, I felt anger boil up inside me. Why did he have to go to some stupid war? I angrily shook my head to get rid of the thoughts and went upstairs to get ready for the day.

As I was washing my face, I realized what I could do to help Nii-san. I could follow him and try to get him away from the army! If I could convince him to leave, then we would be able to run away. For the first time in what seemed like years, a small smile made its way onto my face. My plan couldn't fail.

By the time I got downstairs, Rui and Nii-san were sitting around the fireplace eating breakfast. Rui was eating some pancakes, and Nii-san was eating cereal. I went into the kitchen and got some cereal and brought it over to the fireplace to eat it. The room was silent except for our chewing noises and the crackling of the fire.

"So…uh...how're you two feeling," Nii-san awkwardly questioned.

Rui started to tear up again when she heard his voice, but she calmly said, "I'm fine. I'm sorry about yesterday…" She looked down at the ground and mumbled, "I'm just really worried about you."

He warmly laughed and said, "Don't worry about me." He turned to me and said, "Rei-kun, how're you feeling?"

There were a lot of emotions I was feeling. I was feeling angry about the war, but I was also feeling excited about my plan. Mixed in with those two emotions was fear and nervousness. I curtly said, "Fine," before going back to eating my cereal.

He waited as if to let me say something. When I didn't say anything, he sighed and went back to eating his cereal. I was about to get up and put my bowl in the sink, but Nii-san said, "We're going to Meiko's house today after we finish eating."

"Why?" I flatly asked.

"Reasons. You two will see when you get there."

I wanted to yell and get angry at Nii-san, but it wouldn't have helped. He would've just tried to calm me down if I let my temper flare. "Fine," I bitterly said, trying to put all my anger and hurt into that one word. Ignoring his hurt expression, I walked out of the house.

The cold air washed over my skin as I closed the door behind me. I let out a sigh, letting the cold relax me. It was useless for me to get mad at Nii-san when he was forced to do this. I began to feel guilty as I realized how bad I must've been making Rui and Nii-san feel with how I've been acting lately. The war forced him to do this; he didn't choose to do it.

A familiar looking, red car approached from the distance. I watched it as it slowed to a stop, and the door opened, revealing Meiko looking energetic and cheerful as usual. She marched up to the house and said, "Hey, kid, why the face?"

"You know why," I bluntly said.

She frowned and enthusiastically said, "Your brother is a strong man. Don't worry about him! He wouldn't want to see you sad, right?"

I forced a smile onto my face, but I wasn't feeling any happiness on the inside. "You're right, Meiko-san! I have to be happy for Nii-san."

"That's the spirit, kid!" She ruffled my hair and walked inside, loudly announcing her presence. After she went inside, I stopped smiling and gritted my teeth. I hated faking happiness, but if it was to make Rui and Nii-san worry less, I'd fake it.

I took a few seconds to compose myself and forced a smile. I walked into the house and went back to the living room.

_Later..._

Nii-san was surprised at my sudden change in attitude, but he was happy. After some pointless talking, we all piled into Meiko's car and went to her house. Her house was much bigger than ours, and it was also quiet and peaceful, which was nice.

We got out of the car and were about to enter the house, but Nii-san stepped in front of us with a smile on his face and said, "I have a present for you two. I'm sure it'll make you happy."

Rui hesitantly asked, "What is it?"

He mischievously smiled and said, "You'll just have to wait and see."

I smiled at him but unenthusiastically said, "Thanks, Nii-san. I'm sure whatever you got us is great."

Dramatically, he opened the door and said, "Go inside and see them." Meiko was leaning against the wall and smirked, motioning for us to go in.

I stepped in first and took off my shoes. I didn't really care about the gift; all I could think about was somehow convincing Nii-san to not go to fight in the war. I absentmindedly turned on the lights and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw what was in the room.

There was a brand new grand piano next to one of the windows – which gave a perfect view of the large backyard when sitting in the piano chair – and next to it was a new, polished violin. I heard Rui gasp in surprise when she saw the violin. I couldn't help but let out an embarrassingly loud squeal when I saw the piano.

The piano at home was old and some of the keys didn't work, but I still loved it. I eagerly ran over to the piano and sat down on the bench. I admired the snowy, white backyard for a moment before turning back to the piano and holding down the middle C note. The piano gave off a loud, clean sound before slowly fading away. Rui, after hearing me play the piano, walked over to her violin. She picked it up and experimentally slid the bow over the strings. A clear, high pitched note resonated throughout the room. She looked pleased as she hugged the violin closely to her chest.

Nii-san walked into the room and joyfully laughed. "Based on your expressions, I'm guessing that you two are satisfied with the gifts?"

I didn't have to fake my happiness as I said, "It's great, Nii-san! I love it!" Rui just smiled at him, her expression clearly showing gratitude and happiness. Wait…where did he get the money? "Nii-san, where'd you get the money for this? It must've cost a lot."

His smiled faltered, but he said, "I paid for it, of course. What'd you expect?"

We didn't have a lot of money. Nii-san always told us that we couldn't afford to waste money because we were poor. Suspiciously, I said, "We don't have a lot of money."

Nii-san finally let his grin disappear and said, "I used a little bit of our emergency funds."

"We need that money though!" I couldn't believe that he had used the emergency money for our gifts.

Rui hesitantly stepped forward and quietly said, "Nii-san, I thought you said to use the emergency money when we needed it."

Nii-san sighed and almost mournfully said, "When did you two grow up? I did say that, but Meiko-san is here to look after you. She said that she would be happy to provide money for you two." Meiko waved at us when she heard her name and gave us a thumbs up.

I glared and said, "We'll need the money when you get back! Meiko-san can't look after us forever!"

Nii-san guiltily looked at the ground and said, "I need to go buy some groceries. I'll be back." He walked out the door without saying anything else.

Rui stood up and ran outside, making sure to put the violin on the ground before she left the room. Meiko looked like she wanted to say something, but I ran after Rui. She was outside the porch as she blankly stared off into the distance.

I hugged Rui and gently kissed her forehead, like Okka-san used to do when we were little. "I'll find Nii-san. Stay here." I ran off into the snow, following the footsteps he left behind.

After a few minutes of running, I entered the town and saw Nii-san. He walked past the market and went towards the plaza. I cautiously looked over at the plaza from behind a car and felt the world freeze. In the center of the plaza, there was a man in a black uniform with a wide variety of badges hanging off his chest. He was yelling something about the army and the war against the Allies.

I saw Nii-san enter into the crowd. I quickly ran to the plaza and forced myself into the crowd, looking for him. "Nii-san! Where are you? Nii-san!"

A rough hand grabbed me by the shirt, and a deep voice said, "Hey, kid, what're you doing here?"

I turned to the man and irately said, "I'm looking for someone. Now, let go of me!" The man looked like he was in his early thirties. He had messy, black hair, and he had rectangular glasses.

He loosened his grip, but he still held me and said, "This place isn't for you. Go home."

An angry voice broke through the talk of the crowd. "You! Let go of him!" Suddenly, I was torn away from the man's grip by Nii-san. He was glaring at the man as he protectively put his arms around me. I couldn't help but feel a little afraid of Nii-san when I saw his expression. This was the first time I saw him get angry. His whole body was tense as he clenched his teeth and curled his hands into fists.

The man protectively held up his hands in front of him and said, "Calm down. I was just trying to get him out of here."

Nii-san immediately calmed down and said, "Thank you for telling me." He turned his head to me and quietly said, "Leave. Now."

I felt my resolve crumble under his unwavering, intense gaze. Rei, remember why you're doing this. You have to convince Nii-san to leave. Don't give up! Trembling a little bit, I shakily said, "No. I won't leave."

He slightly narrowed his eyes and said in a dangerously low voice, "I won't tell you again. Leave." I felt tempted to turn around and run, but I stubbornly shook my head.

"You two! Pink hair and black hair! Come here!" The stern voice of a soldier called out to us. Nii-san flinched when he head 'pink hair'.

Nii-san turned to me and said, "Run. Go back to Meiko-san and Rui-chan." He gently pushed me away from him and into the crowd. He looked back at the soldier and began walking towards him.

I looked at Nii-san thinking about what to do. I could go back to Meiko-san and Rui and live with them and forget about Nii-san, or I could follow Nii-san and help him. I quickly chose to stay with him and shoved my way through the crowd. "Wait! Nii-san, wait! I'm going to help you!"

When he saw me running towards him, he closed his eyes and muttered a few words before walking up to the soldier. I was panting by the time I reached him. The soldier looked a bit surprised, but he said, "Will both of you be enlisting in the army?"

I hurriedly said, "Yes" at the same time Nii-san said, "No".

The soldier looked at us confusedly before saying, "I'll need both of you to sign here."

Nii-san glared at me at the same time I looked up at him. The noise around me didn't matter: the only thing that mattered was that I didn't give up. Finally, he turned to the soldier and resignedly said, "Allow for both of us to be in the same squad."

The soldier nodded and said, "Of course."

* * *

><p>Now that I look back on my decision, I wish that I had chosen to stay home. I wish I could've remained ignorant about Nii-san's death, and I wish I could've stayed home to help Rui cope.<p>

_Note: If I used any of the honorifics wrong, tell me in a review.  
><strong>Review button hasn't been used in a while.<br>**_**VVV**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_Note: I was thinking about doing a April Fools joke and saying that this story was canceled, but that would've been mean. Anyway, yet another chapter. Thanks to asianchibi99 and Alli-GAT0R (AkiraneKiiro) for reviewing. _

_Chibi: Yea, poor Ru-...Are those the Kagamine twins? -Distracted by display picture- Nice DP. Anyway, thanks for the compliment. _

_GAT0R: Awesome, you made an account. You should definitely try writing something if you ever want to. I encourage you in posting up stories. Anyway, a bit off tangent. Enjoy the chapter. _

**_IMPORTANT NOTE. PLEASE READ - I accidentally used Lui twice in this story. Once, he was a soldier serving in the Japanese army in chapter 3, and the next, he was a prisoner chapter 5. I apologize for this mistake. Instead of Lui in chapter 5, he will be replaced by Ren Haine. Thank you for reading. (Copy and Paste, hooray)_**

_Thanks to Neon for proofreading_

Piko Point of View

I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the sunlight shining through the ceiling. It seemed oddly peaceful...I wonder why. I tried to sit up but felt a pressure on my right shoulder. I automatically began to tense. Was I being attacked? Was someone trying to kill me? I prepared myself for a fight and quickly looked down, but it was only Len's head resting on my shoulder. He had a small smile on his face as he calmly breathed in and out. At least he's at peace when he's sleeping...but soon, he'll be haunted by nightmares. I almost felt guilty about thinking that, even though it was the truth.

Suddenly, I remembered what happened last night and inwardly groaned. I don't know what came over me last night, but I showed emotions in front of Len. Even worse, I showed that I cared for him. I can't waste my time caring for him. My own survival is more important than his.

I sighed and gently placed his head on the blanket before getting up and looking around the room. From today, Len is on his own. I have myself to look after.

I got up and stretched, feeling oddly refreshed. It was strange feeling this rested…it almost as if I got a full night's worth of sleep. Suddenly, I realized that I shouldn't have been feeling like this. Something was wrong. No one woke us up like they were normally supposed to. Kamui should've been in here a long time ago and should've been yelling at us to get up.

"You're awake," Ren said as he walked out of the shadows. He looked out the window and said, "No one has woken us up."

"I realized," I muttered, hoping he didn't see Len's head on my shoulder.

"There's no one outside. It's like everyone left the camp overnight." I rushed over to the window and saw that he was right; no one was outside. I doubt they left us, but why was no one outside? The camp would normally be busy right now.

I walked towards the door, but Ren's panicked voice said, "Are you crazy? We don't know for sure if we're the only ones in the camp." Ignoring him, I opened the door and stepped outside. I looked around the clearing and saw that it was completely deserted.

I shivered when the cold air blew over my skin but ignored it and walked around the camp, trying to find any signs of life. I looked up at the guard towers and saw that even those were left empty. The guard towers have always been occupied with at least one soldier to keep an eye on us. Why would they be empty? I went over to the gate and tried to open it, but they didn't budge. So the camp wasn't completely empty.

"Hey, wait up!" I heard quick footsteps behind me as Ren ran over to me. When he reached me, he breathlessly said, "Think I'll let you go out on your own?"

I shrugged and said, "If you get killed, it isn't my fault."

He grinned at me and began walking towards the main building. "I'm more worried about you. Now you coming or you just gonna stand around all day?"

I followed him and said, "Just make sure you shut up. Otherwise, we'll get caught."

"Yes, mother," he exasperatedly said.

The rest of the walk to the main building was quiet. I could tell that Ren was beginning to get tense as he stared unwaveringly at the building. I was considering going back to the barracks. After all, if we got caught, we would probably be killed, but I was also curious at what was happening. When we got to the front door, I whispered, "Should we really be doing this?"

He tensely replied, "This was your idea, not mine."

I calmed myself and opened the door. The first thing I saw was an empty, dull, white hallway that seemed to stretch endlessly to my left and right. Luckily, the hallway was dimly lit, the only source of light being the sunlight that shone through the windows. I ducked into the shadows as I looked for any soldiers. Ren mimicked my movements and ducked next to me.

We waited for a few seconds before continuing on, making sure to stay in the shadows. After some exploration, we found the stairs. There were no soldiers anywhere. I turned to Ren and whispered, "This seems too easy."

"Yeah. No soldiers at all. It's making me nervous."

I tried to ignore the uneasy feeling inside me as I said, "Should we go upstairs?"

He nodded and hesitantly looked around him. "I think we'll be fine. Let's go." He stealthily went up the stairs. I followed him and nervously looked behind me, hoping that no soldiers would suddenly appear and find us.

When we got upstairs, I noticed that there were some small tables on this floor. We quickly ducked behind the table and waited for a few seconds before moving on. The second floor was almost the same as the first floor, except for the occasional table and chair.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of conversation coming from one of the rooms. I stopped and tried to hear the direction it was coming from. Ren questioningly looked at me and said, "What is it?"

"Don't you hear that? There are some people talking."

He closed his eyes for a moment and said, "Hey, you're right. We have to be careful."

We followed the voices until we reached a door. Trying to remain quiet, we put our ears on the door and listened in on the conversation. "…-ve to do something about this. We must act immediately," Commander Leon said.

"Kommandant, we can stay and fight. Just let us kill them all," Kamui gleefully said.

"No, that's too risky. As I've said before, there must only be minimal losses," he responded. "Hauptsturmführer Kagene, do you have any suggestions?"

There was silence for a few seconds before he said, "We must move. We must leave this camp and go to Gross-Rosen."

"What? That's insanity! Have you lost your common sense over night? We cannot run from these cowards!" Kamui's outraged voice echoed loudly through the hallways.

"Schutzstaffel Kamui, calm yourself." Commander Leon's quiet, threatening voice instantly silenced Kamui. "You will not disrespect Hauptsturmführer Kagene."

There was some mumbling coming from Kamui before the room was plunged back into silence. Someone cleared their throat and said, "Kommandant, if I may make a suggestion." The person speaking was a male. He sounded happy, but it sounded forced and unnatural.

"Of course, Schutzstaffel Shion." Shion…as in Kaito Shion, Len's best friend. This was the man that betrayed Len and caused him to be a prisoner.

I felt a hard jab on my shoulder. "Calm down. You look like you want to murder someone," Ren whispered. I realized that I was beginning to curl up my hands into fists and quickly uncurled them as I forced myself to calm down.

"Well, Kommandant, I agree with Hauptsturmführer Kagene. Running would be the best option in this situation. However, why don't we leave the prisoners behind? They'll only slow us down, and we won't have to worry about them anymore."

Commander Leon's response was immediate. "No. We will be taking them with us. Even if they do slow us down, we cannot let them be found by the Allies. If the prisoners slow us down too much, we'll just kill them."

Kagene sounded cautious as he said, "Kommandant, I agree with Schutzstaffel Shion. There is no use for these prisoners. Leaving them behind would be the best option."

"Hmm…even you agree with Schutzstaffel Shion." Commander Leon went quiet for a few seconds before he said, "I will not be changing my mind. We will take them with us." He stopped speaking and waited, as if daring anyone to disagree with him. After a few seconds, he sounded satisfied as he said, "There is no disagreement then. Schutzstaffel Shion, have you sent out the soldiers to survey around the area?"

"Yes, Kommandant. They will return shortly."

"What are you two doing here?" A furious voice said. Ren and I both spun around to see Furukawa glaring at us. Without giving us a chance to say anything, she quickly grabbed us both by the arms and half dragged, half pulled us away form the door.

My mind went into a panic as I strained against her grip, but she was too strong and didn't let go. Damn. This is the end isn't it? I'm going to die right here. I looked over to Ren and heard him whispering some words with his eyes closed. She took us outside and instead of pulling out a gun like I expected her to, she harshly said, "Leave!" and roughly pushed us towards the barracks.

I was surprised that she let us go, but the moment she let go of my arm, I ran towards the barracks without looking back. Once I reached the barracks, I turned around and looked behind me, expecting to see Ren following me. Instead, I saw him back at the main building. He looked like he was talking to Furukawa, but I couldn't be sure. I waited for her to pull out a gun and shoot him, but instead, he turned around and lightly jogged back to the barracks.

When he finally jogged up next to me, I pulled him into the barracks and slammed the door shut. The prisoners were still sleeping, so we weren't gone for too long. I said, "Ren, what were you thinking? You could've gotten yourself killed back there!"

He gave a small grin and said, "We have allies."

I blankly stared at him for a few seconds before saying, "What do you mean?"

He vaguely said, "You'll find out later. All you need to know is that we have hope. Now, I think someone wants to talk to you."

I was about to ask what he was talking about, but a sleepy voice behind me said, "Piko, where'd you go?"

I stood still and said, "What are you talking about, Ren? I want to know."

He rolled his gray eyes and said, "I promise to tell you later if he doesn't tell you, but just wait for now. Trust me." After he said those words, he turned around and walked away, ignoring my questions.

I glared at his back before turning around and going back to Len. Hopefully, Ren was right, and I would find out later. Len, who was now sitting up, curiously looked up at me and said, "Where were you?"

I sat down next to him and briefly said, "No where."

"Come on, tell me. Where were you?" he said, almost whining.

God, he was like a puppy. An annoying puppy that needs constant protection. I impatiently said, "Trust me. It was nowhere." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but before he could talk, I said, "Just do me a favor and don't ask, alright?"

He just sighed and said, "Fine." He pulled the blanket closer to him and sat against the wall as he stared at the ceiling.

I sat down next to him and silently thanked him for knowing when to shut up. One thing was strange about Len. He acted like last night never happened. I enjoyed the silence for a little bit more before saying, "Why are you acting like last night never happened?"

He looked at me and grinned. "It's no use worrying over things that can't be changed. All I can do is survive."

"Hm…you're a strange one," I uncaringly said. He just shrugged and said nothing. Despite his encouraging words, I could hear the sadness in his voice. It'll only be a matter of time until he's broken like the rest of the prisoners. However, he seemed different. There was something different about him that made him unique from everyone else. I turned to him and firmly said, "Len, do me a favor."

He curiously looked at me and said, "What is it?"

"Don't lose hope. No matter what happens, look forward to the day you get out of here and return home." I felt like a hypocrite for saying those words when I already had no hope, but I had a feeling that Len needed some encouragement.

With a determined expression, he said, "I'll never lose hope. No matter what happens."

Good. Now he'll be more prepared to hear about moving. I nodded and said, "Now you'll be ready for the news I'm about to tell you. We're going to move from this camp to a different camp."

He blinked and disbelievingly said, "…Can you repeat that?"

"You heard what I said. We're moving to a different camp." I ignored his shocked expression and waited for him to say something.

He swallowed and said, "How do you know this?"

"I overheard the officers talking about it."

"What do you mean by 'overheard'?"

I sighed and said, "You ask too many questions. If I answer this one, will you stop asking?" He nodded, waiting for me to continue. I continued speaking, "Ren and I snuck into the main building and overheard them. That's all."

He curiously asked, "You two didn't get caught?"

I frowned and lightly tapped his head. "No more questions, remember? Now don't ask anymore." He looked like he wanted to ask but said nothing.

The other prisoners were starting to wake up. Some of them got up and went to Ren, probably going to ask him questions about why they weren't woken up earlier. Others just looked around and went back to sleep.

Suddenly, someone lightly knocked the door. Everyone looked at the door and waited to see what would happen. Shion opened the door and said in his too-happy voice, "Prisoner number 105. Come with me. The captain wants to see you."

I got up and walked over to Shion and tried to look bored, hoping that I didn't look nervous. I heard Len let out a small gasp as he stared at me with wide eyes. Shion smiled at me and looked at Ren for a few seconds before he escorted me out and took me to the main building.

As I walked next to Shion, I started thinking about why Commander Leon wanted to see me. Did he find out that Ren and I were listening in on their meeting? If he did, why didn't he bring Ren with him? I mentally cursed at my luck. I knew it was a bad idea and that we would've gotten caught.

Shion took me upstairs and guided me to a door. He stood behind me and said, "Make sure you knock before entering." He turned around to leave, but before he left, he said, "You two shouldn't try doing that again. Don't you know the old saying 'Curiosity killed the cat'?" He cheerily waved and walked away.

How did he know that we were there? And more importantly, why was _I _the only one here? I wanted to punch the door, but it wouldn't have been a good idea disturbing Commander Leon. Forcing myself to calm down, I knocked on the door.

Instead of Commander Leon's deep voice like I expected to hear, I heard Kagene's quiet voice say, "Enter. Make sure you close the door behind you." I slowly entered the room and closed the door behind me. The room was very simple: two chairs, a window, and a large table at which Kagene was sitting down in. Furukawa was sitting down in one of the chairs as she read a newspaper.

I closed the door and stood next to it, unsure of what to do. He motioned to the empty chair and said, "Please, sit. You and I have a lot to discuss." I silently walked over and sat down, waiting for him to speak. He was writing a something and didn't say any more.

After a few minutes of hearing the scratching of pencil on paper, I felt ready to snap. I knew it was a stupid thing to do, but I impatiently said, "Are you going to bore me to death, or are you going to wait until I confess?"

Kagene put down his pencil and glared at me, his gaze radiating hostility. I wished I could've taken those words back, but it was too late now. If I was going to die, why not have some fun before dying? I glared back at him and tried not to flinch. Time seemed to stop as we stared at each other, both of us carefully studying the other. He looked too young to be a commander. He must've done something important to become one. Finally, after what seemed like years, he leaned back against his chair. I blinked in surprise and felt myself relax when I saw the hostility disappear from his gaze. Even thought his face was impassive, he warmly said, "You haven't changed at all, Piko."

He knew my name. That means he had to be… "Rei," I whispered. I thought he was dead. How could he have survived two years of constant fighting?

He nodded and said, "Try not to speak loudly. We don't want unnecessary attention."

I suspiciously said, "Why are you fighting for the enemy?" He may have still been Rei, but it still didn't explain why he was on the enemy side.

He opened a drawer and pulled out a loaf of bread. He tossed it over to me and said, "Eat first. It's a long story."

* * *

><p><span>Rei Point of View<span>

"What! You can't give him to the Germans!" I angrily yelled.

Kiyoteru-sama took a deep breath and patiently said, "Rei, I know that he's your friend, but life isn't that simple. We're in Germany, not Japan. We have to listen to the Germans because they have more power than us right now. All they want is Piko as a prisoner. Think about it: Do you want to have all of us killed because we didn't give up Piko?"

I looked at the ground and stubbornly said, "There must be something we can do. We can't let him be captured!"

He narrowed his eyes and said, "There is nothing we can do. We will speak of this no more. It pains me to forfeit the boy, but it must be done for the good of everyone else in this army."

"But Kiyote-"

He slammed his hand down on the table in front of him and yelled, "REI! This is enough! We will speak no more of this." Pointing to the door, he said, "You will leave my office and allow me to think! Don't forget that you are a soldier in _my_ army, and I'm _ordering _you to leave."

I began to tremble when I heard Kiyoteru-sama raise his voice, but I managed to say, "No! I refuse to leave without knowing that he will be safe."

Quietly, he muttered something under his breath and turned around the face the window behind him. He stared out the window for a few seconds before turning around and saying in a calmer, kinder voice, "Very well. I promise that I will keep him safe. Does that appease you?"

Satisfied, I nodded and walked out of the office. I walked out of the building and back to my own tent, where Piko was sleeping. As I walked back to my tent, I thought about how things turned out. Piko will be safe, I won't be fighting anymore, and Nii-san will be getting a funeral. I felt my eyes start to water when I thought about Nii-san, but I quickly rubbed them away. He wouldn't want me to cry; he would want me to be happy and smile. The only difficult part would be writing the letter to Rui and Meiko-san.

When I walked into the tent, I tried to sound happy as I said, "Piko, I'm back!" I waited for a response but received none. I wonder why he wasn't responding. Maybe he was sleeping. I frowned and said, "If you're sleeping, you should get up. It's the afternoon right now, and you're being lazy." Still no response.

I began to get worried as I walked closer to the sleeping bag in the corner of the tent. "Piko…? Are you awake?" I crouched down and opened the sleeping bag, but no one was there. I jolted up and sprinted towards the main building. Piko was missing! I had to get to Kiyoteru-sama fast and tell him tha- I felt myself collide into someone and be knocked back onto the ground.

The other person let out a "Oof!" and staggered back a few steps. He looked down at me and said, "Watch where you're going, kid." I quickly scrambled back onto my feet and ran past him, not bothering to say anything. Before I could go even a few steps, I felt a hand grab onto the back of my shirt. The man disapprovingly said, "Shouldn't you apologize to your elders?"

I really didn't have time for this, but I still muttered, "sorry" before running towards the main building. Or at least I tried to. The man still had a firm grip on the back of my shirt.

He curiously said, "What's the rush?"

I felt a spark of annoyance, but I quickly said, "Piko's gone. Have to tell Kiyoteru-sama." When he still refused to let go, I looked up at him and snapped, "Can you let go of me already?" After getting a good look at his face, I realized that he was Lui, the soldier that defended Nii-san.

Lui loosened his grip on my, but he still firmly held me in place. "You mean the white haired kid?" I frantically nodded, hoping that he would let me go. He gave me a strange look and said, "Don't you know that he was taken away by some German soldiers?"

_Ba-bump. Ba-bump. _I felt blood starting to pound in my ears after the final words left his mouth. I wanted fall down and cry, but I managed to say, "When?"

He worriedly said, "Maybe you should go back and rest. You don't look so go-"

I desperately said, "Please just tell me when!"

He looked as if he wanted to lecture me, but he said, "About 10 minutes ago. Where were you? He was causing a huge problem, resisting the Nazis. All I can say is, good for him. No one should liste- Hey! Where d'you think you're going?" I had already stopped listening to him and was running to Kiyoteru-sama.

By the time I got up to his office, he was outside the door. I slowed down to a clumsy stop and said, "Kiyoteru-sama! They've taken Piko away!"

"I know. I let them," he said in a monotone voice.

I felt the world come to a stop. It was as if everything had frozen the moment he said those words. I wasn't able to say anything for a few seconds, but I finally managed to say, "…What?"

Still in a monotone voice, he said, "I told you. It was either he lives or we live, and I'd much rather choose us over one person."

I felt like everything around me was beginning to crumble and collapse. After everything that happened, I hoped that I would be able to repay him. He was sent to a place worse than death, something he didn't deserve. I felt myself begin to choke as I thought about the treatment he would have to go through.

Kiyoteru-sama broke his emotionless façade and worriedly said, "I know he was important to you, but it had to be done for the greater good. Follow me, I'll let you lie down on my bed."

He began to gently lead me into his office, but I broke free from his grip and stepped away from him. I looked at the ground and whispered, "You…you killed him. He did nothing wrong, and you killed him."

He closed his eyes and unhappily said, "This is war. Sacrifices must be made for the good of others."

This was war. War meant death and murder and ruined lives. I silently turned around and walked out of the room. I ignored Kiyoteru-sama's worried "Rei? Where are you going?" and continued out of the building. I went to my tent and packed up some items: my sleeping bag, some stale bread, a knife, a revolver that once belonged to Nii-san, and some bullets.

I left the tent and walked. I just kept on walking away from the camp. No one questioned where I was going, or they just didn't care. As long as I could rescue Piko, I didn't care about them either

* * *

><p>For the next few days, I aimlessly wandered, hoping that I would run into Piko. Unfortunately, life wasn't that easy. I ran out of bread on the second day, so I had to steal food from the Axis army at times. I would quickly blend in so no one noticed me, take some food, and quickly leave. It was a miracle that I didn't get caught, and I was grateful for that.<p>

However, I got caught once. After I had taken some food and was outside of the camp, a soldier came up to me. To be more accurate, a female, Japanese soldier came up to me. She sneaked up on me as I was leaving and said, "Where do you think you're going?"

I quickly turned around and saw a girl with cherry red hair. She looked like she was around my age, maybe year younger. The important thing was that she had a pistol out and was pointing at me. I frowned and said, "I was just going to go to the bathroom. Is there something wrong with that?"

She hesitated and looked like she was about to put away her gun, but she said, "Why would you go so far away?"

She was wasting my time. The longer I stay here, the greater the chance I'll be found. I had to get rid of her, or else I'd be caught. I smoothly said, "I enjoy having my privacy. I don't like being so close to the others when I go to the bathroom."

Hm. It looked like that convinced her. She slightly blushed and put down her gun. She looked at the ground and muttered, "Oh…well, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt. Please, go."

I mentally thanked over whoever was watching over me and said, "It's no problem."

Just as I turned around and was about to walk away, she said, "Are you sure about that?"

I turned back to face her and pretended to act offended as I said, "Yes, I'm sure I know how to go to the bathroom."

She shook her head and said, "That isn't it. What I meant was, are you sure that you're going to the bathroom and not actually trying to run away."

Damn, how'd she know? I had to act calm. I frowned and said, "Escaping? I'm just going to the bathroom."

She narrowed her eyes and said, "Don't act stupid. You act differently from the other soldiers, like you're worried about being caught."

Before she could continue, I quickly pulled out my revolver and pointed it at her. "Don't move and don't talk," I quietly said, trying to sound as threatening as possible. Her eyes widened, but she listened and didn't move. I had to get away without alerting the others. Thinking quickly, I said, "Follow me. Don't try yelling, or else I'll shoot you."

We slowly walked away from the camp until it was out of sight. She didn't try to do anything except for glaring at me, which I ignored. When we were far away enough, I moved closer to her and put my gun away, switching to my knife instead. I put the blade next to her throat and said, "Drop your gun or I'll kill you."

The atmosphere around us was tense as I waited for her to do something. I hoped that I wouldn't have to kill her, but if she was going to try to kill me, then I would have to defend myself. Hostility flared in her gaze as she stared at me, but she still didn't move. _Ba-bump. Ba-bump. _

A minute passed. Two minutes. Three. Still, she did nothing. I would have to do something now in order to make her listen. I silently apologized to the girl for what I was about to do. I said, "Drop the weapon now." The final word came out weak and quiet. I cleared my throat and repeated, "Drop your gun. Now."

She glared at me and venomously said, "Will you really kill me?" Would I really be able to kill her? A girl that was around my age? She didn't do anything, so she shouldn't die. But this was war. I couldn't be weak.

I was silent for a moment before looking at her in the eye and saying, "Yes. I will."

She looked down at the ground, as if trying to decide what to do. I could hear some footsteps and the loud voices of Japanese soldiers come towards me. It was now or never. I tightened my grip on the knife, prepared to slash her throat. She looked up me and said, "Good luck." Her gun fell out of her hand and silently hit the ground.

I kicked it away from her and ran away. In the background, I heard the girl and the soldiers argue. The soldiers were accusing the girl of something, and the girl was denying whatever they were saying. Against my judgment, I stopped running and jogged back, worried about the girl. I should run away and save myself. I don't care about this girl. She just caused me trouble. I ignored my thoughts and got close enough to listen to their conversation.

The girl was on the ground as she defiantly glared up at the soldiers. "I'm not a traitor! I didn't do anything bad."

One of the soldiers sneered and said, "Tell us the truth, girl, and maybe we won't hurt you too much."

"I told you, I was out here because I thought I saw something!"

"And what was that?"

"It was just a wild dog. It ran away." She lied to them. Maybe she was trying to protect me…but why would she want to protect a stranger?

The man savagely kicked her and yelled, "Tell us the truth, girl! I won't ask nicely one more time." The girl let out a cry of pain, but still didn't say anything. I made a fast decision and decided to help the girl.

There were three soldiers, but they were all armed. If I killed them each with one bullet, then they wouldn't have time to retaliate. I took a deep breath and pulled out my revolver. They were standing still, so it wouldn't be too hard to hit them. I brought up the gun next to my head and aimed. I was about to take a life for the first time. Would it really be worth it? I could run away, but I couldn't let these guys hurt the girl.

I forced myself to stop thinking and pulled the trigger. _BANG!_ The girl let out a gasp as the soldier in front of her went down, his lifeless body hitting the ground. The other two turned around to see who had shot their teammate, but one of them was already dead by the time they both saw me. The third one quickly brought up his gun and fired. I dove to my right, but I still felt a hot, sharp sensation on my left thigh. I let out a cry of pain as I hit the ground. It felt like a burning knife stabbed my thigh as the pain slowly spread through out my leg. Focus, Rei. There's still one more guy left. Ignoring the pain in my left thigh, I raised my revolver and quickly shot the final soldier twice in the chest. He dropped to the ground, still moving but was unable to shoot anymore.

I lowered my gun as I inspected the wound. I couldn't see it well in the night, but judging by the pain, it didn't seem too serious. The girl got up and ran over to me. I brought up my gun and pointed it at her, threatening to shoot if she tried anything. She raised her hands and anxiously said, "Wait, wait, don't shoot. I only want to make sure you're fine."

I hesitantly put my gun away as she knelt down and looked at the wound. After a few seconds, she said, "It's too dark to see anything, but you're bleeding. Give me one of the sleeves of your shirt." I wordlessly pulled out my knife and cut off the left sleeve of my shirt. My left arm was cold, but it was better than bleeding to death. She tightly tied it around my thigh and pushed down on the wound.

As I watched her do this, I suddenly felt dizzy and tired. The girl glanced at my face and worriedly said, "Maybe you should rest here for a few minutes." I lay down on the ground, too tired to say anything. I wasn't worried about the girl trying to her me. If she wanted to, I would've been dead a long time ago.

After a few minutes, she said, "Come on. We've gotta move. The others will start to get suspicious if I'm gone for too long."

It took some time for me to register what she said, but I finally said, "What do you mean, 'we'? I never said you could come with me."

She scoffed and said, "You think you'll get far alone with that wound? You need someone to help you, and I'm going to help you."

I thought about what she said. Help was nice, but I didn't want to drag anyone else into this. Besides, another person would only slow me down. I warily asked, "Why do you want to come with me? It's not easy being alone, and you don't even know who I am."

She lightly punched my head and said, "Isn't it obvious why I want to go with you? I hate this war as much as you do, and you also helped me. I'm repaying the favor. What's your name?"

I hesitated before saying, "My name is Kagene, Rei. And yours?"

"Furukawa, Miki. Now let's get out of here."

* * *

><p><span>Piko Point of View<span>

"Miki and I eventually rejoined the Axis army. We got better at fighting, and I eventually became a captain, as you can see," Rei said as he gestured at his uniform. "We went from camp to camp, visiting each camp to look for you. No one really cared about what we did because they were used to it. They actually acted like it was an honor whenever we visited their camp."

I silently stared at the small amount of bread that remained in my hands. He went through all that just to find me. It was almost unbelievable, how much he did. I looked up at him and said, "Why?"

He curiously looked at me and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Why'd you go through so much to find me?"

He looked deep in thought before responding, "Wasn't it obvious? You're my friend, and I don't abandon my friends. You were one of the only people outside of my family to show me kindness. And even more, you showed me mercy when I was your enemy."

So I did have allies… I wasn't alone. I felt some hope arise within me. There was still a chance to survive; a slim chance, but it was there. Still staring at the bread, I quietly said, "Thank you."

He finally broke his inexpressive mask and let out a small grin. "Just wait. We'll get you out of here. You should leave now. We wouldn't want anyone to get suspicious."

I got up and left, unsure of what to say. Before I left the door, I turned around and said, "Furukawa-san, thank you for watching over Rei."

I thought I saw her mouth tilt upwards in a smile, but it was gone before I could be sure. "It was tough, but I made sure he didn't kill himself. And call me Miki. 'Furukawa-san' makes it sound as if I'm old." She sounded young; it was possible that she was younger than me.

I left the room and walked over to the stairs, not wanting to stay in the building for any longer. As I walked, I felt something in my hands. I looked down and realized that I didn't eat all of the bread. I better eat it before taking it back to the barracks. The prisoners will get suspicious over where I got it. I was about to eat it, but I thought of Len's skinny, weak body and sad, pleading eyes. Annoyed, I took the bread away from my mouth and kept it in my hands. Dammit, Len, even when you're not here, you're annoying me.

I felt someone tap my shoulder. I turned around and saw a soldier standing there. He sounded bored as he said, "Schutzstaffel Shion would like to see you. Follow me." Without waiting, he turned around and walked away. An Axis soldier that didn't look like he wanted to spit on me. That was a first. I followed him, knowing that it was better to follow his directions. Why would Shion want to see me, though?

We eventually reached a door, and the soldier opened it. Wordlessly, he walked away. He was a weird soldier. He didn't even knock. Shion, who looked like he was waiting for me, happily said, "Please, sit down in one of the chairs." His happy attitude was unnerving, but I ignored it and sat down. After I was seated, he asked, "Are you comfortable?"

I looked out the window as I ignored him. After he realized that he would receive no response, he said, "You don't talk a lot, do you? I'll just get to the point then." He immediately got rid of his fake, happy attitude as he gravely said, "What I have to talk to you about is important, so pay attention." I was surprised by his sudden change in attitude and looked at him, curious about what he had to say.

He was looking straight at me as he set his mouth in a straight line. It was almost like someone replaced his personality. After he saw that he had my attention he began to speak. "I brought you here today to talk about Len. Everything you know about him is a lie."

Questions began to erupt from my mind as I registered what he said. Finally, I managed to lamely say, "What?"

_Note: So yes, hopefully, the next chapter will be out very soon. If not, then shoot me.  
><strong>Review button wonders if anyone reads these author's notes<br>**_**VVV**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_Note: And after an unreasonably long time, a new chapter. I'd give some excuses, but you guys aren't here to read my excuses. Thanks to JamesTheBird, asianchibi99, Nanashi Mishiranu/Akirane Kiiro, Lazy Banana, SniTch, and APH1168kittens for reviewing. _

_JamesTheBird: Best Piko story...? Thank you! On a side note, your name reminds me of something on Tumblr._

_Chibi: No, the world won't implode, but it'll definitely be getting confusing. _

_Mishiranu: Glad you decided to join the FFn community. And maybe you're right about the lying, maybe you're wrong. You'll just have to wait and see._

_Banana: Thanks for giving this story a shot. Hopefully, it won't disappoint you in the future. Although, I am wondering: What was it that made you think this story was boring? Was it the summary, or the title, or...? I'm just wondering if it's anything I can improve on. Any feedback is appreciated._

_SniTch: Thank you for the compliment. It really does motivate me. Also, same question I asked Lazy Banana, what was it that made you hesitant about reading this story? I'm wondering if it's something I can improve on. _

_APH: Alright! You read the author's notes! Nice to know that some people are reading them. Here is your long-awaited update._

**_Important Note: I will finish this story, no matter how long it takes. Even if I don't update for a while, I have not given up on this story. It will be finished._**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Unfortunately, my beta reader has been busy and will not be available for a while, so I edited this chapter. Because of that, there may be a few more errors in this chapter, so I'd like it if you guys could point out any errors, things that don't make sense, etc.<strong> _

_Also, I apologize for the awkward formatting in this chapter._

_Now then, on with the chapter._

* * *

><p>Nii-san = Older sibling (Len uses this to show affection)<p>

-Chan = Normally used for girls or someone close. It can also be used with young children

-Kun = Normally used for male children or male teenagers

Oto-san = Father

Okka-san = Mother

Führer = 'Leader' in German

Piko Point of View

Shion nodded and said, "It's true. I've brought you here today to explain it." He leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. "As you know by now, my name is Kaito Shion. I'm Len's friend."

I felt rage begin to course throughout my body when I heard him say that he was Len's "friend". Before thinking about what I was about to say, I yelled, "Then your definition of a 'friend' is fucked up in the head!"

Unlike how I expected him to react, he bowed his head and sadly said, "I know that my crimes will haunt me, even after I die, but everything I'm doing is to help Len. I can only hope that I will one day be forgiven." The bitterness and sadness in his voice made me stop and think if he was telling the truth, but he could've been lying.

I was still angry, but I managed to calm myself and said, "You're lying to me. Why should I believe you?"

"I thought you would ask that." He sadly smiled and said, "You heard Len's side of the story, but hear my side. Try to relax; it'll all make sense after I tell you."

* * *

><p><span>Kaito Point of View<span>

_4 years ago…_

"Shion, get up and run!" I groaned and pushed myself off the ground. I staggered to my feet and began to run around the obstacle course.

The sun was up and burning my back, the dry air was making me feel as if I was breathing in smoke, and the captain was yelling at everyone to rush. The sweat poured off my body and drenched my uniform, but I was beyond caring about it. All I could think about was finishing up and taking a long, cold shower. It was just another day in the army.

I jumped over another pile of sandbags and unsteadily landed, almost falling to the ground again. Come on….only about halfway through, and you're already tired. You should be tougher than this. I mentally yelled at myself to move faster; I had to become fast and strong in order to protect the people I loved.

Speeding up, I sprinted to the final obstacle: the infamous Wall. The Wall was a 45 feet (roughly 1,371 centimeters) tall climbing wall with a few, small pieces of rock sticking out of it to use as handholds and footholds. There were already some other soldiers climbing up, but they weren't having much success. They loudly cursed as they fell down the Wall, angrily kicking the towering structure before climbing back up again.

I took a deep breath and took a few steps back. I sprinted towards the wall and jumped up to grab a handhold when I got close enough. The rough rocks scratched my skin, but I ignored it and began to climb up.

"Ah! Damn!" Another soldier above me slipped and began to fall, but he grabbed a handhold in time. He was about five feet above me and stopped moving. His whole body was shaking as he took in deep gulps of air, and he looked as if he was going to fall off any second.

I made my way up to him as fast as I could and said, "Looks like you need some help. Grab my hand." I let go of the wall with my left hand and reached down, waiting for him to grab it. He looked shocked at first, but he let go of the wall and grabbed my hand with his violently shaking right hand. His small frame made me think that he would be light, but I almost fell off when he grabbed my hand; both of us were tired and sweaty, which made climbing up even harder.

I silently gripped his hand tighter as a warning that I was about to climb. He tightened his grip a little. He sounded exhausted as he quietly said, "Let's go." Hoping that he could keep up, I began to climb up as I pulled him up at the same time. It was difficult at first, but we slowly moved up the wall at a steady pace.

We eventually got to the top of the wall. I turned to him and grinned, but he was ignoring me or didn't notice. He was silently looking down at the bottom of the wall, but he was acting strangely. His breathing was unnaturally fast, and it seemed like he was going to faint at a moment's notice.

I didn't understand what was happening at first, but then I realized: He was scared. No wonder he climbed up so slowly. It wasn't that he was tired, but he was scared of the descent. I let go of his hand and gently gripped his right shoulder in an act of reassurance. At least I hoped he thought it was reassuring. I tried to sound encouraging as I said, "It'll be fine. Just keep on going down and don't think about it." He gave a tense nod and got ready to climb down.

I got off the top of the wall and gripped the rocks sticking out of the Wall. "Let me go first so I can catch you if you begin to fall. Be careful," I said before beginning to climb down. Thankfully, the descent was much easier than the climb up. We went down faster but only by a little bit. The other soldier above me was still hesitantly climbing downwards.

When we were about 15 feet off the ground, I yelled, "Let's jump off the wall after climbing down a few more feet! It'll save us time!" I looked up and saw him nod. His body still shook – from fear or exhaustion, I wasn't sure – but at least he was climbing down faster. We were making good progress, but suddenly, he slipped fell down straight towards me. I let out a startled yell as he collided with me and caused me to fall.

What happened next, I wasn't sure. I felt weightless for a second or two before crashing headfirst into the hard, rocky ground. A wave of pain shot throughout my head, and everything went dark.

* * *

><p>"<em>Mother, father, who are these people?" A blue haired, 8 year boy asked. <em>

_A woman with light blue hair looked down at the boy and smiled. "Kaito-chan, these are our friends, the Kagamis. Greet them properly."_

_ Kaito, although he was slightly nervous, smiled and enthusiastically greeted the blonde haired couple. "Hi! My name is Shion, Kaito!" _

_ The blonde haired man warmly smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Kaito-kun. You may call me Takumi. This is my wife, Atsuko_._" The woman sitting next to him didn't say anything, but she gently smiled. She appeared to have a bundle of….something in her arms. Kaito wasn't sure what it was. _

_ The blue haired boy curiously asked, "What's that you're carrying?" _

_ Takumi carefully picked up the bundle and quietly said, "This is our son. He was recently born. You have to be quiet when you're near him or else you'll wake him up. He needs to sleep." _

_ Kaito nodded and whispered, "What's his name?" _

_ For the first time, Atsuko spoke. "His name is Len." Her voice was soft and warm. It seemed like she would shatter if she spoke too loudly. _

_ After thinking for a few moments, Kaito grinned and said, "I like his name. It sounds nice." _

_ Atsuko smiled and gratefully said, "Thank you."_

_ Kaito was always taught to be polite to guests, but he didn't know what to say. But upon seeing the snow outside, he got an idea. He asked, "Does he like ice cream? We have lots of ice cream!"_

_ Takumi couldn't help but laugh at the boy's question. "Len can't eat ice cream because he's too young." He saw Kaito's crestfallen expression and quickly said, "But I would like some ice cream. Can you get some for my wife and me?"_

_ However, the boy was already gone after he heard the word 'like'. Takumi picked up his cup of tea and said, "Does he even know that it's winter?"_

_ Akaito, the father of Kaito, let out an annoyed sigh and said, "He loves his ice cream too much to care." _

_ Little did Kaito know that not everyone ate as much ice cream as him, especially in the winter. The Hagen Dazs remained untouched on the table as the Kagamis and the Shions talked and rejoiced about how well everything was going._

_ "Kaito-chan….I'm so sorry." A now 18-year-old blue haired, ice cream lover silently stared at the dark sky, refusing to break eye contact with the stormy clouds. Takumi wanted to further comfort the young adult, but he knew that whatever he said would fall on deaf ears._

_ The two men, one blonde haired and one blue haired, were standing side by side under a large tree. They weren't in the best of moods because a funeral had just ended. However, the younger adult was more deeply affected by the funeral. Both of his parents had just died the day before, leaving him as an orphan. Kaito was going to college and wasn't able to talk to his parents very frequently, but the deaths of his parents still made him feel weighed down by guilt. Maybe if he had talked to them and encouraged them to take another job, or maybe he could've asked them to stay home….he could've saved his parents' lives._

_ After a few minutes of silence, Kaito suddenly said, "I…I'm going to fight in the war. I'll become a soldier." He took a deep breath to calm himself and continued, "They wanted us to win the war. I will continue their wishes and fight."_

_ Takumi solemnly nodded and said, "You have good intentions, but the war is dangerous. Your parents were engineers; they didn't even fight and they still got killed. Your choice will be much more dangerous. Also, you're going to college right now. What do you think your parents would say if they knew that you dropped out?"_

_ Kaito tore his gaze away from the sky and glared at Takumi. "Do you think I don't know that? I'm fully aware of the risks I'm taking, but I must continue my parents' wishes," he said in a low, angry voice. He paused and got a faraway look in his eyes. He quietly said, "They wanted to help us win the war, and I will continue their duty." _

_ The sky rumbled and flashed with lightning as if it was also showing its anger. Takumi calmly looked at Kaito, not saying anything to avoid angering him further. Kaito looked at the ground and muttered, "I apologize…that was not needed."_

_ Takumi sympathetically patted the boy's shoulder and said, "I know." There was silence once again between the two men. The only sound audible was the sound of thunder and the sound of the wind blowing over the grass. _

_ "Oto-san? Kaito-nii?" A 8 year old blonde boy ran up to the two silent men. He came to a halt in front of the two men, taking a moment to catch his breath before looking up at the two. _

_ Takumi looked down in surprise and asked, "Len, what are you doing here? And where's okka-san?"_

_ Len, even though he knew that today was a day of sadness and mourning, remained optimistic and smiled. "She's doing some work back in the house." _

_ Takumi frowned and said, "Len-chan, you shouldn't be here. Go back to the house and wait for us to return."_

_ The boy pouted and said, "But I don't want you two to be outside. I want for all of us to be together!" He looked at Kaito and hugged him when he saw his solemn, sad expression. "Kaito-nii, smile! You shouldn't frown like that!"_

_ It began to lightly drizzle, but the trio didn't notice. Takumi frowned at Len's behavior while Kaito looked down at Len in surprise. After a few seconds, Kaito smiled and said, "You're right. Let's go inside." The three began to walk inside in a somewhat better mood. _

* * *

><p>The peacefulness of sleep slowly left me as I opened my eyes. I couldn't tell where I was because of the darkness. A cool breeze gently came out from the air conditioning, which felt nice as it hit my bare chest and stomach. The back of my head felt cold, which I found out was because of the ice pack placed there. My body felt sore, but that wasn't a surprise.<p>

I got off the bed and wandered around, looking for a light switch. A few hours must've passed because I REALLY had to use the bathroom. As I wandered around, I felt my foot hit something, or rather someone. I stumbled but managed to maintain my balance.

"Owww…." A tired voice came from behind me on the ground.

Rather than being alarmed, I was curious as to who would be on the ground in the same room as mine. "Who's there?"

The person, who was I guessing was a man by his voice, on the floor yawned and said, "Whazzat?"

He was probably still sleepy. "Wait a moment," I said before turning on the lights. The man let out a tired groaned and slowly lifted himself up into a sitting position. Hm…this man looks familiar. Deep in thought, I stared at the man as he stood up. After a few moments, I remembered: This was the man I helped at the Wall.

He was still dressed the same, except he has taken his hard-hat off. Without his hat on, I saw that he had short purple hair. It was an odd color hair. However, I had blue hair, which was just as strange. He looked like he was about my age. Perhaps he was a little bit older, judging by the fact that he was a few inches taller than me.

Just to confirm that I was right, I asked, "You were the man I helped earlier today, correct?"

He was wide-awake now and responded, "Yes." He paused and looked at the ground. Quietly, he mumbled something, but I couldn't hear it.

I leaned forward and said, "Can you repeat that? I didn't hear what you said."

He looked up from the ground – still not looking at me – and hastily said, "I apologize for today. You got hurt because of me." It seemed like he was nervous, as if he was scared about something. Perhaps he thought that I would get angry at him? My intention was to make him feel at ease, not unnerved.

I softly said, "Look up at me." He hesitantly looked up at me and flinched when he was my eyes. I continued, "I'm not angry, if that's what you think. There's no need to look so scared." Smiling, I reached out my hand and said, "I'm Shion, Kaito. You may call me Kaito."

He looked surprised for a moment, but it was replaced with a small grin as he shook my hand. "Kamui, Gakupo." The tension seemed to disappear as we shook hands.

I sat down on the bed and said, "I'm aware that I missed some of the day. What happened?"

He pulled up a chair from the corner of the room and said, "You didn't miss a lot. Nothing important happened."

As we talked about trivial matters, I didn't know that I was currently talking to the man that would become my best friend and later on, my greatest enemy.

(MiNi LiNeBrEaK)

Two weeks passed since I met Gakupo. Since then, we began to talk more, and I found out some interesting information about him. For instance, he was the closest thing I knew to a modern day samurai. He told me that he had three katanas in his bedroom and a full set of samurai armor in his closet at his house. I wasn't sure why he had these things, but it was very fascinating to know that there was a person that preferred to use swords over guns. Also, his hair was naturally purple, like mine was naturally blue. He didn't dye it. It made me feel better, knowing that I wasn't the only one with an odd hair color.

As for his personality, he was a quiet person, but once he opened up, he didn't stop talking. He was also a very funny person, even though he didn't look like a very humorous person. Oddly enough, he loved to fight. He never said it, but I could tell. I fought him a few days ago in hand-to-hand combat. The whole time we fought, which wasn't very long because he was an excellent fighter, he had a crazed smile on his face. It was unnerving to see him fight with such a gleeful expression, but it made me thankful to have him on my side. He was a good friend; I was thankful that I had a friend like him during my stay at the military.

Currently, I was sitting down on my bed at the barracks reading a book. I was enjoying the rare moments of peace and quiet until Gakupo came and sat down next to me. He nudged me and said, "Hey, mail for you."

I put my book down and grabbed the white envelope in Gakupo's hand. My heart sped up a bit when I saw that it was from the Kagamis. They didn't send me mail too often because of the lack of money, and I was always excited when I got mail from them. However, this letter changed my life.

I quickly tore it open and pulled out the paper. The first thing that troubled me was the state of the paper: It was crumpled and wrinkly, unlike the other letters that were always neat and properly folded. I was too excited to care about that, though. I unfolded the paper and read the letter, prepared to hear about how life was over there and how Len was doing and how the Takumi's business was faring and how Atsuko was doing and more.

The letter I read was nothing pleasant. What I read was a plea for help. A messily scribbled letter from Takumi, begging me to rush back to Numazu to help him.

I read over the letter, once, twice, three times, refusing to believe what was happening. Takumi was currently in jail, waiting for his trial. He did something that involved angering the Nazis, but I didn't care too much about that. All that mattered was that I had to get to the trial by tomorrow in order to help him get free. Gakupo tapped my shoulder and worriedly said, "What's wrong?"

I glared at the paper and willed for all of this to be dream. Maybe I would wake up to the loud yelling of one of the older soldiers, or maybe I would wake up at home. Unfortunately, this was real. I set the paper down on the bed and stared down at the ground. I had to do something about this; I couldn't just sit here and wait.

I looked up at Gakupo and said, "I need to go home." Without waiting for his response, I stood up and began walking over to the central building.

Within a few seconds, Gakupo was at my side, walking right next to me. He confusedly said, "Why? Did something happen?"

I continued walking and didn't bother looking at him as I said, "Family issues. Important issues."

Unlike his quiet self, he continued pestering me. "What issues? And how important are they?"

I took a deep breath and tried to sound calm as I said, "They are nothing you need to concern yourself over. Please, stop asking now."

"You can tell me! I won't tell anyone else, I swear."

I finally lost my temper at his constant questions, and to say at the least, I got angry. "Stop asking me! It is _nothing_! Now cease these useless questions because I won't answer them."

He looked shocked, but I didn't wait long enough to see his reaction. I ran the rest of the way to the central building and pushed the door open. As soon as I opened the door, I came face to face with the captain.

I probably looked wild and unruly because the captain asked, "Shion, is something wrong? Did something happen?"

"I need to go home. Fast. Can you do something about it?" I desperately asked.

He gripped my shoulder and said, "First of all, calm down and tell me what's wrong." I quickly explained about how Takumi was going to jail and how I had to quickly get home in order to help him. As I explained to him, he impassively watched and occasionally nodded.

After I finished up my story, he said, "Follow me. We're going to see the Director."

We went upstairs and kept on walking until we reached large, wooden, double doors. The commander knocked and said, "It's Nazo. A soldier wishes to talk to you."

Unexpectedly, a female voice said, "Come in." The captain opened the door and motioned me to go inside.

I entered the room and stood in front of a woman with pink hair. She was sitting down, hastily writing some stuff down on a paper. Absent-mindedly, she said, "Sit down and wait for a moment."

The captain sat down in a chair across from the table, but I stayed standing up and impatiently walked back and forth. If the woman was bothered by this, she didn't show it and continued to work on her papers.

After a few seconds, she put down her pen and asked, "What's the problem?"

I burst out, "I need to get home! I have a family problem!" And so I explained the issue with Takumi for a second time that day.

As I was explaining, the woman put her hand up and said, "I've heard enough. You may leave. Nazo, escort him to the pickup area. There will be a vehicle waiting for you. Tell the driver that Megurine sent you."

I felt relieved and said, "Thank you so much. I need to return home quickly."

The woman responded, "It's no problem. Now, go quickly. Your family needs you."

The captain tapped my shoulder and said, "Come on. Rush." I followed his quick footsteps until we reached a flat, dirt area. There was a car waiting for me, on and ready to go at a moment's notice.

We walked over to the car. The driver was lazily sitting back in his seat until he saw the captain. He got out of the car and saluted the captain. The captain said, "At ease. Get this soldier home as fast as you can. Megurine has radioed you the location of his house, correct?"

"Yes, sir. He lives nearby in Numazu at the Shizuoka prefecture."

"Good. Now, go."

The soldier got in the car and revved the engine, waiting to go. Before getting in the car, I looked back at the captain and saluted. "Thank you, captain."

He saluted back and said, "Go. Don't wait. Oh, and before I forget, we'll send your belongings back to your house."

I nodded and got into the front seat of the car. "Let's go."

The trip home lasted about four hours. The driver recommended that I go to sleep during the trip, but I was too nervous to go to sleep. What if it was too late by the time I arrived? What if they were hurt? What if I made things worse? Multiple 'what if…' scenarios went around in my head, continually haunting me until I eventually reached home.

The first thing I noticed as I pulled up the driveway was that there was no car outside. Takumi always parked his car outside the garage, while Atsuko always parked hers inside the garage. This meant that Takumi wasn't home. Not a good sign.

I got out of the car and thanked the driver before sprinting to the front door. Perhaps someone else was home, and I'd be able to ask him or her about the trial. When I reached the front door, I took a moment to compose myself before knocking on the door.

_Ba-bump. Ba-bump. Ba-bump. _I waited for a minute. No response. I turned around, dejected, and walked away from the house. Maybe I'd be able to get some information from the neighbors.

"Kaito-nii? What are you doing here? You're back early." I turned around and saw Len at the doorway with a confused look on his face.

Feeling a large smile begin to form on my face, I ran forward and hugged Len. "Oh, thank God you're home, Len. Let's go inside and talk. I'll tell you everything inside." I picked him up and walked inside the house.

The interior of the house was clean, as usual, but something felt off. Besides Len's constant questions, it was deathly quiet inside the house. I sat down on the couch and put Len on my lap, like we used to do before I left.

"…And why are your clothes so dirty? Did you do something, Kaito-nii?" Len kept on asking questions, but I put a finger on his lip and got him to quiet down.

"I'll answer your questions later. Let me ask a few questions first, ok?" I tried to keep my voice steady to avoid making Len feel uneasy.

He nodded and looked attentively at me. I cleared my throat, trying to think of a way to ask him without alarming him; it seemed like he didn't know about the issue that was at hand.

I thought for a few more seconds before cautiously asking, "Len-chan, do you know where your parents are?"

He shook his head. "A policeman told me that they were going somewhere to talk and that they would be back soon."

So he knew a little bit, but it wasn't enough information. "Did the policeman say anything else?"

"No. That was it."

"Do you know how long they've been gone?"

"Uhm…I think three hours?"

They were gone for a while; that wasn't good. However, I still had a chance to help them. I hugged Len and said, "Thank you for the answers."

He hopefully looked up at me and asked, "Do you know where they are?"

He looked so hopeful; it almost hurt to even think of saying no. I tried to sound upbeat as I responded, "I may have an idea of where they are…" I wasn't telling the whole truth, but I wasn't lying either.

Len immediately perked up and said, "Where? I wanna see them!"

Even though the situation was serious, I couldn't help but laugh at his expression. It was so full of happiness…which I was about to take away. I stopped laughing when I thought of that, but I carried Len on my back and said, "We'll try to find them."

I went out the door and ran towards the center of the city. If Takumi and Atsuko weren't at the trial, then they should be at the police station. This only left two places, but I estimated that I only had time to go to one.

By the time I got to the center of the city, a few minutes had passed. I couldn't waste any more time. For all I know, the trial may have already finished, and I wouldn't be aware of it.

"Kaito-nii, where are we going?" I felt Len turn his head as he looked around, observing the city.

"We're going to find your parents."

He gripped my shirt and said, "Really? Where are they? I want to see them!"

I saw a man on a bench reading a newspaper and decided that I would ask around a bit for some information before choosing where to go. "Soon. Just promise me that you'll be calm and quiet for now, okay?"

"Oka-" he abruptly stopped talking and nodded his head instead.

I smiled, even though he couldn't see it, and said, "Good Len." I walked to the man and said, "Excuse me, sir? May I ask you something?"

He grumbled but put his newspaper down. When he saw me – which probably looked silly, considering that I was holding a 10 year old boy on my back – he bolted up and stood up straight. He sounded surprised when he said, "What can I help you with?"

I was surprised by his sudden change in attitude, but now wasn't the time to ponder about it. "Did you see a police car pass by recently?"

The man thought for a moment before saying, "Yes, I did." Len let out a quiet but excited noise from behind me.

Inwardly, I smiled in triumph, but I managed to keep my expression neutral. "Do you know where the car was headed?"

"To the courthouse. It seemed to be going slowly. Not sure why it was going so slow."

I still had a chance! Allowing a small grin to come onto my face, I said, "Thank you, sir." I tightly grabbed Len and said, "Hold on," before running towards the court house.

Behind me, the man yelled out, "Continue fighting for the honor of Japan!" Oh. I realized that I was still in my military uniform. That was probably why the man had a sudden change in attitude.

The courthouse eventually came into view. I barged inside – making sure not to hurt Len – and came to a halt when I saw the large crowd of people inside.

They were trying to go into one of the rooms, but multiple cops were blocking them and saying, "Everyone, please calm down. You will be told about the results of the trial _after _it is done."

Trial? It had to be Takumi's. I tapped the shoulder of the nearest person – an old woman – and asked, "Excuse me, but this trial is for the Kagamis, correct?"

She sounded irritated as she tried to look over the shoulder of a man in front of her and said, "Of course it is! Didn't you hear? It's been all over town."

I gripped Len tighter, preparing to push through the crowd and said, "Thank you for telling me. I need to get there right now, so excuse me."

She turned around and said in an irritated voice, "We can't go unti-" Her words were cut off when she saw me. She was completely silent for a few seconds before turning around and yelling, "He's here! The witness is here!"

The crowd didn't seem to hear her; they continued harassing the policemen up front. The woman grabbed my arm and said, "Follow me. Takumi and Atsuko need you now."

She began forcing her way through the crowd, yelling at people that didn't move fast enough. When we got to the front, she marched up to a policeman and said, "This boy is the witness! Let him through!"

He glanced over at me and said, "Good. You're here. You have to hurry." He turned around and quickly towards the trial room.

I thanked the woman and followed the policeman. During the walk, I asked, "How long has this trial been going on for?"

"It's almost at the end. We were worried you wouldn't show up."

Offended, I said, "Of course I would show up. I have been friends with the Kagamis for years."

"What I mean was that we were worried you wouldn't show up because you couldn't. Takumi mentioned a witness, but he said his witness was busy."

He stopped in front of a door and said, "We're here."

"Thank you."

I was about to open the door until the officer said, "Take my advice. Just tell the truth. The Kagamis are a good family, and everyone knows them for their kindness. We don't believe that Takumi and his family should be punished for their so called 'crimes'." He said the last word with disgust, as if it actually revolted him to think, or even mention it.

I opened the door and said, "Of course. I was planning on doing just that."

The inside of the courtroom was quiet and solemn. There was absolute silence. In the front of the room, there was the massive judge's podium. To the right and left of the judge were two soldiers, staring at the people with expressionless faces. In front of the judge's podium were two smaller tables separated by another, smaller podium. A wooden gate separated the front area with the spectators.

On the small, right table, Takumi and Atsuko were sitting there with a grim looking lawyer. On the other table, there were three soldiers – which I assumed were the Germans – and another lawyer. I could only see Takumi and Atsuko's backs, but I knew how they were feeling by looking at their posture. Takumi looked tense and kept on fidgeting; he was angry but was trying to stay calm. Atsuko, on the other hand, was still and sat up with her back straight against the back of the chair; she kept herself calm and composed.

I stood next to the door for a moment to calm myself before walking towards the front of the room. The sound of my footsteps alerted everyone of my presence, causing all of them to look at me. When Takumi saw me, his expression turned into one of relief, but his eyes widened in shock when he saw Len. Atsuko simply smiled and waved at me, as if this was all completely normal, but also looked horrified when she saw Len.

The judge also looked slightly relived when he saw me and said, "The witness is here. We may continue the trial. Witness, step forward onto the podium. And please, leave the child outside."

Len tightly gripped my neck, making it slightly difficult to breathe. I gently tapped the boy's thigh as a signal to loosen his grip and said, "But Your Honor, this boy is part of the Kagami family."

The people in the room began to talk to each other in hushed voices. I couldn't discern what they were saying, but they sounded anxious. _BAM! BAM! BAM! _

The judge slammed his gavel down on the podium and yelled, "Order!" It became quiet in the room once more. He put down his gravel and said, "Very well. Give him to his parents." There was some sadness in his voice as he spoke. Why? Wasn't it a good thing for me to arrive? Did I do something wrong?

I tried to ignore the questions and stepped up to the podium. The judge said, "Swear on your life and honor that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and only the truth."

"I swear on my life and my honor that I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and only the truth."

"Then let us begin."

The Kagami's lawyer stood up and stood in front of me. Instantly, I recognized who he was. His name was Rook Yokune, one of the most famous and youngest lawyers in Shizuoka. It was rumored that he only lost three cases during the seven years he was a lawyer. The fact that he was here wasn't good; Yokune defended people in a trial only if it was a matter of life-and-death.

He looked into my eyes for a few seconds and looked away. He began to pace, walking from one end of the room to another. At first, it seemed as if he wasn't doing anything, but he finally said, "Shion-san…that is your name, yes?" I nodded. "Good, good. Now, I want you to answer a few questions. First of all, what is your relationship with this family?"

"They have been friends with my family for over twenty years, before I was born. I remember meeting them for the first time when I was eight years old."

Yokune held up his hand and said, "You say they were family friends, yet you met them when you were eight? Explain."

"I said that I _remember_ meeting them for the first time at eight. Oto-san told me that I met them for the first time when I was two or three, but I was too young to remember that." Part of why Yokune was such a good lawyer was because he inspected every detail, no matter how time-consuming it was.

He nodded and said, "Makes sense. What can you tell me about Takumi?"

I took a deep breath and said, "My parents died a few months ago. Ever since then, he has been like a father to me. He's kind, generous, and is willing to do anything for his family and for Japan."

"Were you aware that the reason he got in trouble was because he was too loyal to Japan?"

"I was aware of that. I believe he did what was right."

"I agree with you. He refused to salute Hitler and refused to say Hitler was the 'hero' of the new empire." As I was speaking, one of the German soldiers was rapidly saying something to the two other soldiers. He was probably a translator.

After Yokune mentioned Hitler, one of the soldiers got up and angrily yelled something in German. The judge slammed his gavel on the podium and yelled, "Silence!"

The soldier was eventually calmed by the translator, but he glared hatefully at Yokune and me before completely quieting down.

Yokune calmly continued on. "What is your opinion on Atsuko?"

"She's a smart and caring mother. She would risk anything to protect her family. In fact, there was one time she stayed up for three days straight because I was sick. She constantly stayed by my side and nursed me back to health. I can say nothing negative about her."

"Her co-workers say the same thing about her as you do. However, some of them think of her as a mysterious person. Is she hiding anything?"

"No. She isn't. She has nothing to hide."

"Thank you. That is all I would like to hear from you." He went back to his seat and sat down.

The judge looked satisfied as he said, "Thank you, Shion-san." He looked over at the Germans and said, "Would you like to examine the witness?"

The Germans talked for a few seconds before one of them stood up and said with a thick, German accent, "No. We have heard enough."

"If you have nothing to say to counter this, then I declare that the Kagamis are-"

"Wait. We aren't done yet." The German soldier walked towards the judge's podium and said, "Allow me to talk to you for a few minutes. Then, you may decide."

The judge looked hesitant, but he reluctantly said, "Very well. For now, this session is adjourned. Return in five minutes to hear the ruling."

The occupants of the room stood up and walked out, uneasily talking to one another about the German soldier. Suddenly, I felt like I was about to collapse. All of the day's events seemed to hit me at once and make me physically incapable of standing. I leaned against the podium and yawned.

"Kaito! You made it!" Takumi was walking towards me with a large smile on his face and Len on his back. He pulled me into a long hug and said, "Because of you, we've won this trial! At first I was worried about Len, but it looks like I won't have to worry about him anymore."

Len, who seemed to be confused at what happened, smiled and said, "Yay, nii-san!"

Atsuko walked up to me and gently scolded Takumi. "Give him some room. You're crushing him with that bear hug of yours." Takumi mock whined but let go of me, still smiling happily. Atsuko kissed my cheek and said, "Poor baby. You must be tired after the long trip back. And on such short notice also. We're sorry that we sent the letter so late, but we didn't have a lot of time."

I let out a relieved laugh and said, "Well, as long as this is over."

"I don't think you should all be celebrating." The four of us turned to look at Yokune, who had just appeared next to us. He turned to Takumi and Atsuko and said, "It's true that you have a good, almost perfect reputation in this town, but that soldier makes me uneasy."

Takumi's smile faded as he looked at the judge and soldier. The two seemed to be arguing about something. The judge looked nervous, but the soldier looked confident with a smug grin on his face.

Takumi uneasily asked, "What do you think they're talking about?"

Yokune frowned and said, "I wish it was something good, but that's unlikely. We must be prepared to fight once more in case things go wrong." He turned to me and said, "It was unwise of you to bring the boy. The whole family is being tried, and if they are found guilty, the boy will also suffer because he is a part of the Kagami family. If he was left at home, he may have had a chance at escaping to a relative's house." With those final, cold words, he left us.

The atmosphere was solemn once again after Yokune spoke. Things weren't over yet. We had to be ready, and this time, the stakes were much higher. Not only were Takumi and Atsuko in danger, but Len was also in danger.

After the five minutes were over, everyone returned to hear the final ruling. The judge looked nervous as he banged his gavel. Not a good sign at all. "The final ruling is that the Kagami family is…" he broke off and remained quiet for a few seconds.

The entire room was quiet, waiting for the judge to speak. Even Len seemed to realize that this was serious and was staring intently at the judge. The judge closed his eyes and said, "…guilty as charged. You are guilty of shaming the name of the Führer and acts of treason."

Instantly, there was chaos in the room. The spectators stood up and began yelling in outrage at the judge. Takumi was also standing and demanding an explanation. Atsuko was still, not moving at all. Len, who was in Atsuko's lap, looked confused and scared at all the yelling.

The Germans got up and left the room with a triumphant sneer. Before leaving the room, one of the soldiers looked back and said, "We will give you five minutes before returning to collect the prisoners. They will be good tributes for the Führer."

_Prisoners…prisoners…prisoners…_ The word echoed in my mind. I couldn't believe it… I had failed. All of the Kagami's hopes were destroyed in a matter of seconds, and I couldn't do anything about it. I tightly gripped the edge of the table. Worthless…that's what I am.

_BAM! _"Silence! I will explain!" the judge yelled. The screams eventually died down, but there were still some angry voices that threatened to break out in screaming once again. The judge looked tired as he said, "Takumi, Atsuko, I'm sorry. I couldn't do anything."

Takumi glared at the judge and said, "What happened? You know that we were innocent! Even though I didn't salute Hitler, I did nothing else wrong!"

The judge leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry…but I was threatened."

Some of the spectators let out shocked gasps while others yelled once again in outrage. This time, the judge waited for the noise to fade until speaking. "While we have an alliance with Germany, it is only for war. There is no obligation to treat each other kindly. I…I was threatened by the Germans. They said that if I didn't declare Takumi as guilty, they would start to kill civilians until we were all gone. More German soldiers are coming tomorrow, and…I just couldn't risk it. I'm sorry."

Takumi was silent for a moment before yelling, "Why did you believe them? Did you truly believe that they could kill all of us? People would start to get suspicious with the Germans if we just died!"

The judge sadly said, "Takumi…I'm sorry. Currently, we are powerless to stop the Germans. Almost all our soldiers are off fighting. There is nothing we can do. Besides, the military won't do anything to simply protect a few hundred people. They have more important goals. To them, if we were killed, it would be seen as an acceptable loss."

The room fell into a stunned silence after hearing the cruel truth. It was common sense that Japan wanted to avoid losses as much as possible, especially within their own borders. It was easier to sacrifice a few hundred people rather than lose thousands more fighting Germany.

Takumi shakily sat down in his seat; he looked angry, but there was a look of resignation on his face. He quietly said, "There is nothing we can do, but…" He glared at the judge and said, "We will save Len." Takumi looked like he was daring the judge to object.

Atsuko spoke up upon hearing her son's name. She fiercely glared at the judge and said, "You will not take him away from us! We won't let him get hurt!"

The judge got up and said, "Please, let there be peace. I agree with both of you; the boy must be kept safe. However, the soldiers are outside of this room, and they will be here soon. How will we get the boy past them?"

Yokune stood up and said, "Your Honor, if I may speak." The judge nodded, giving him permission to continue. "Well, we know that the Germans will be looking for the Kagami family. However, perhaps they won't care as much about the boy. If we can distract them, he may have a chance at escaping."

He turned to me and said, "Shion-san. I want you to take the boy away as the soldiers are distracted." He turned to everyone else and said, "I will need all of your help in distracting the soldiers. We must all make sure that the boy gets away safely. Those that don't want to partake in this, please leave the room now."

No one got up. They looked more determined now that they had an actual plan. Yokune looked down at his wrist – probably checking a watch – and said, "Our time is almost up. Everyone, leave the room immediately and do anything to cause a distraction."

Everyone quickly got up and rushed for the door. When they opened the door, they began to crowd the soldiers and gather around them, pushing and yelling as they tried to confuse the soldiers.

Yokune grabbed his stuff and threw a jacket to me. It was a white trench coat with some blue stripes. He walked towards the door and said, "Wear the coat. Try to hide Len-chan with the coat."

I quickly put on the coat and picked up a wailing, crying Len from Atsuko. Takumi and Atsuko were longingly looking at Len and me. Atsuko got up and kissed both of us on the cheek. Her eyes were watery as she said, "Both of you must live. Live a better life than us." She hugged Len and said, "My son…follow Kaito. He will keep you safe."

Takumi had a pained expression on his face, but he only said, "Both of you…stay safe."

Both of them walked towards the door. Takumi was grimly staring directly into the crowd. Atsuko kept on looking back at us with tears running freely down her face; she didn't try to wipe them away as she shamelessly sobbed. It was the last time I ever saw them.

I felt like crying and crumpling to the ground, but I had to stay strong. I put Len on my back and made sure he was covered by the coat. He was quiet, but I could still hear his sniffles. Luckily, the noise the people were making would be enough to prevent the soldiers from hearing Len.

"Shion-san, quickly!" Yokune was at the door, waiting for me to leave the room. I rushed to his side, and we began forcing our way through the crowd. The soldiers were too distracted by the crowd and didn't see us.

We got to the entrance without being spotted. Yokune readjusted his grip on his suitcase and said, "Once we get outside, my car will be nearby. We have to make a run for it. Just follow me."

He pushed opened the door and sprinted, running towards the far end of the parking lot. I sprinted next to him as I tried to keep a steady grip on Len. Once we got to the car, Yokune got inside the car and said, "Get in!"

I jerked open the door, but I felt a cold feeling on the back of my head. "Don't move." I froze as I saw a soldier run up to the car, pull Yokune out, and throw him down onto the cement. The soldier pulled out a gun and pointed it at him.

No one was around us because we were too far from the building. That meant the soldiers could do anything they want, and no one would be around to witness it. The soldier behind me said, "Slowly place the boy on the ground. No sudden movements, or else you're dead."

I slowly crouched down and let go of Len, but he gripped onto my neck, refusing to let go of me. His whole body was trembling in fear. I reached up to take his arms away from my neck, but I hesitated. There had to be some other way out of this. Maybe I could overpower the guard behind me and take his gun…but that meant Yokune would be in danger.

"I won't repeat myself. Do it. Now." The soldier behind me roughly jammed the barrel of the gun into the back of my head. Unwillingly, I took pulled Len off me and placed him on the ground.

I turned around and faced both the soldier, who I recognized was the translator from the trial, and Len. Len was staring up at the gun with wide eyes with tears threatening to overflow. I weakly smiled and said, "Don't worry, Len-chan. It'll be fine."

The soldier darkly chuckled and said, "Yes, boy, it'll be fine. Now come over here." Len hesitantly looked at me. I nodded at him and motioned for him to go. He slowly walked over to the soldier, taking shaky steps.

The other soldier stomped on Yokune, causing him to cry out in pain. He sadistically grinned and said, "Take the boy back to the others. We'll return to the capital later. And you," he said as he looked at me, "come over to this side of the car. Slowly. No sudden movements or else I'll kill you both."

The soldier next to me saluted and leisurely walked away with Len on his back, as if taunting me about my inability to do anything. I wanted to run after him, but I knew that it would be useless. I slowly got up, and before I walked over to the soldier, I yelled, "I'll find you! Don't lose hope!" If Len heard me, he gave no indication of hearing me.

"I am waiting. Do not make me wait any longer, or else I won't be as merciful," the soldier said. I slowly walked over to the other side of the car where he was. Yokune was on the ground with one hand clutching his stomach and a pained expression on his face.

The soldier pushed down on Yokune more with his foot, causing Yokune to let out another pained cry. The soldier calmly said, "I want you to get down to the ground next to your friend."

Knowing I had no other option, I got down on the ground next to Yokune with the front side of my body facing up. I glared at the soldier; he just ignored it and idly played with the trigger of the gun.

After a few seconds, he said, "I have orders to take both of you as prisoners…but I'm sure the commander will understand if you two simply went missing." Just as I realized what he meant, the barrel of his gun flashed and emitted a loud _BANG!_

Yokune was dead before he could even do or say anything. The front of his suit was dark with blood, and the ground around him was also beginning to collect blood. Some of it splashed onto my face, but I didn't notice it; I was too scared realize it was there.

The soldier lazily turned to me and said, "Good-bye." I closed my eyes and prepared for the inevitable pain, but it never came. Instead, I heard a surprised grunt above me. I opened my eyes and saw a familiar purple haired man fighting the soldier.

Gakupo had both hands on the gun, making sure that the barrel was pointed away from him and me. The soldier was wildly firing as he tried to back away from Gakupo. Before the soldier could move any further, Gakupo brought his head back and smashed it into the soldier's skull. It fazed the soldier enough to make him let go of the gun. Gakupo tore the gun away from the soldier's hands and fired a few bullets. _BANG BANG BANG BANG! _

The soldier was thrown back by the force of the bullets and landed on the ground, unmoving. Gakupo dropped the gun and turned around to help me up. He was sweating and shaking as he said, "Kaito, are you fine? Are you hurt?"

I got up and tried to speak, but no words would come out. I cleared my throat and said, "Yes, I'm fine." My voice sounded hoarse and weak, sounding very much unlike me.

Gakupo continued on as if he didn't hear me. He frantically said, "There's blood on you! I think you're hurt. We need to get you to a hospit-"

"Gakupo! Shut up!" I angrily yelled. I walked over to the discarded gun and picked it up. Now that I had a weapon, I'd be able to go after Len. All I could do was pray that the soldiers didn't get away with him yet.

I turned to Gakupo and asked, "Did you see a soldier with a young boy who had blonde hair?"

I probably scared him, because he took a step back away from me when he saw my expression. Or maybe it was because of the gun I had that was pointed at him. Shocked, he said, "Y-yea. But there were a few other soldiers."

I jammed the gun's barrel into the ground and let out a yell of frustration before yelling, "Tell me what they were doing!"

Gakupo began to look calm, but he took a few steps back after I yelled. He fearfully said, "They were just talking and laughing."

Good. They'll make easy targets. I pointed at Yokune and said, "I want you to take him over to the big building. You saw a large building on your way here, right?"

He nodded and hesitantly asked, "What…what exactly do you plan on doing?"

I turned around and began to walk away from him. "I'm going to kill those soldiers and get Len back."

I heard quick footsteps behind me and felt two arms wrap around my body, restricting my movement. Gakupo was behind me, preventing me from moving. He urgently said, "Kaito, listen to me. You can't fight all the soldiers there. You'll get killed."

"Let go of me. Now." I tried to pry his arms off me, but he refused to let go. I jammed the barrel of the gun into his head and angrily yelled, "I swear to God that if you don't let go of me, I will kill you!"

His grip loosened a little, but not enough for me to get away. I had to save Len; I didn't care about what happened to me or Gakupo as long as Len was safe. "I'll give you three seconds before I kill you. One."

He still didn't let go of me. "Two." I had to this for Len.

Before I said three, Gakupo quietly said, "I'm sorry."

"Three."

I pulled the trigger, but Gakupo wasn't behind me anymore. He let go of me and ducked under the barrel of the gun, making the shot miss him. Instead, he was in front of me. He ripped the gun away from my hands, and before I could react, threw a right hook at me.

Momentarily stunned, I took a few steps back to try to avoid getting hit. Gakupo took this time to rush forward and slam his leg into my stomach. I doubled over and tried to move away, but two fists smashed into the back of my head, sending me face first into the ground. I heard Gakupo apologize one more time before my vision went black.

(mInI lInEbReAk)

Everything was dark when I felt myself waking up. The back of my head hurt, and I felt something cold there. I opened my eyes (feeling a major sense of déjà vu) and saw that I was in an unfamiliar room. Gakupo was to my left, slouched over on a chair as he slept.

I groaned as I tried to remember what happened. I remembered talking to Gakupo inside the barracks as I read my book. Then, I got a letter. It was about someone important…Takumi. Suddenly, everything came rushing back to me. The letter. The trial. The soldiers. And most important of all…

"LEN!" I bolted up from the bed and tried to run to the door, but when I stood up, the back of my head started pounding and was forced to sit back down.

My yell startled Gakupo and woke him up. He quickly got out of his seat and got into a fighting stance and looked around the room, but then he realized where he was and sat back down with a sigh.

He looked guiltily at me and asked, "How're you feeling?" I wished I could get up so I could hurt him, but my head hurt too much.

I glared at him, trying to convey all my anger through my glare. "Why did you hold me back? I could've done something…I could've helped him!"

Gakupo just sadly shook his head. He got up from the char and walked over to me and sat down next to me on the bed. Quietly, almost mournfully, he said, "I'm sorry. I had to do it. You would've gotten yourself killed."

I could've hit him now that he was right next me. It was the perfect chance, but when I saw his expression, I couldn't bring myself to hit him. He looked too sad to do anything. It almost made me regret yelling at him. Almost.

I calmed down before grudgingly saying, "Maybe you're right, but I wouldn't have cared as long as Len got freed."

Gakupo looked upset as he said, "You're being an idiot. So what if he was freed? He would've been alone." He paused as if to let me speak. I kept on glaring at him, saying nothing. He took this as a cue to continue. "You'd be useless if you were dead. Use your head, and stop being so stupid!" By the time he finished speaking, he had raised his voice and was furiously yelling at me. He looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn't say anything; he just glared back at me.

I didn't want to admit that he was right. Unfortunately, I knew that he was right. I broke eye contact with him and stared down at the bed. Len was taken away, and I couldn't do anything. How worthless I was. But…even if he was taken away, I will find him and get him back. There had to be a way.

I snapped my head up and determinedly said, "I'll get him back. No matter what, this isn't how it ends."

Gakupo's angered expression was replaced by one of confusion. He disbelievingly asked, "How are you going to do that? You can't just walk into Germany and take him away without a fight."

Even though the situation was grim, I had to laugh at his confused expression. I grinned at him, but it was one full of malice, not happiness. "I'll think of a way. You don't have to worry about that."

"Whatever you're planning, I'm helping you," he firmly said.

I was surprised by the sudden change of attitude. Frowning in confusion, I asked, "You do realize that what I'm planning is dangerous, right? You can die."

He looked offended as he said, "Of course I know that. I'm not stupid."

This man was a strange one. Even more confused than before, I asked, "Why would you help me? You barely knew me for two weeks. Don't you have a family?"

"Of course I do. I want to help you because I can tell you're a good person. No one else helped me back at the army, but you did. You deserve better than this. I will help you, and you can't change my mind." He stubbornly crossed his arms and glared at me, as if daring me to object.

I shrugged and said, "So you say. I plan on sneaking into Germany, becoming a soldier there, and saving Len as soon as I can. Still want to help me?"

Gakupo suddenly froze and just stared at me, saying nothing, not even breathing. All I did was smile at him, waiting for him to call me crazy and try to convince me that my plan was going to fail.

He took a deep breath, clearly in thought about my plan. Finally, he spoke. "I'm still going to help you. I said you wouldn't be able to change my mind."

Now it was my turn to freeze. This man was surely crazy. A loyal friend, but still very crazy. I bluntly said, "You're crazy."

He smiled and said, "I know. Now, when will we do this?"

There were _millions_ of reasons as to why he shouldn't come with me, but in the end, I gave up and said, "…I'll inform you later."

The smile on his face stretched even wider (which should have been physically impossible). He excitedly said, "You won't regret this. I'll make sure the plan succeeds, and I'll do anything you tell me to, and-"

"Then leave. I'm tired." His demeanor was one of a child as he got up and walked towards the door. Before he left, he looked back at me and opened his mouth to say something, but I tiredly said, "Leave."

He left the room without a word, but I could still _feel _his excitement and happiness in the air; it made me think that a child would've been a better companion than him. Unfortunately, I knew that I wouldn't be able to escape from Gakupo, no matter how hard I tried.

I lied down on the bed and mentally cursed Gakupo before going back to sleep. It was going to be painful for the next few months.

* * *

><p><span>Piko Point of View<span>

After he finished his story, the room remained dead silent. Kaito's head was bowed down as he stared at the ground, clutching the arms of his chair tightly. It looked like he was trying hard not to cry. I still found it hard to believe him; after all, the whole story could've been faked.

Ignoring my thoughts, I suspiciously asked, "Why is your story different from Len's? He said that you lied about his family."

He sadly looked up at me and said, "He was only ten when this happened. He was confused throughout the trial and probably mistook me as trying to persecute him. Coming here as an enemy soldier really didn't make him think that I was trying to help him."

"Why don't you tell him the truth?"

"He would do something to expose both him and me, and both of us would be killed. As much as I want to trust Len, I can't trust him to act normally around me."

He made sense, but I wasn't going to admit that. "Why are you telling me all this? Why do you trust me with this information?"

He sighed and said, "I've been observing you. You're a good person, I can tell. You don't deserve this…none of you do." He paused for a moment before he said, "Also, Len has become attached to you. He sees you as a friend and possibly a protector. I know that you won't do anything to hurt him, and I felt that you deserved to know the truth."

A good person…ha. He couldn't have been further from the truth. "You don't understand," I coldly said. "You think I'm a good person, and you think that Len sees me as a friend. Maybe Len does see me as a friend, but I only see him as an annoyance. I will do whatever it takes to survive, even if it means abandoning Len."

That wasn't the best thing to say. Before I could react, Kaito reached across the table and grabbed my neck with one hand, preventing me from breathing. His blue eyes were narrowed in anger as he quietly said, "You better listen to me. You will protect Len, and you will not tell anyone about this conversation. Maybe you think you're strong, but at a single command, I can have you killed. I'm asking you to watch over him and comfort him. Do this, and I'll make your life as painless as possible. If you don't I'll have you killed as slowly as possible. Do you understand?"

I couldn't do anything as his hand was tightly wrapped around my neck; all I could do was stare helplessly at him as my vision started to go black. Suddenly, he let go and sat back down with his head buried into his hands. He was muttering something, but I couldn't hear him; I was too busy gasping for air.

After a few seconds, I was able to breathe normally without feeling as if I was going to faint. Kaito looked at me with despair in his eyes and whispered, "I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to lose my temper."

I wasn't sure about how to feel about him. I wanted to get up and beat him senseless for almost killing me, but at the same time, I felt an unfamiliar emotion as I looked at his limp body and hopeless eyes. Finally, I realized what it was: pity.

Pity is an emotion I hate. I hate how it always makes me feel vulnerable, and it always makes me do foolish things. It never helped me in life; it only weakened me.

However, as I looked back at Kaito's hopeless and anxious eyes, something made me want to help him. In a way, he was similar to Len. Both of them made me want to help them for some unknown reason.

Before I could think about it for any longer, I said, "Fine. I'll help Len, but just know that the only reason I'm doing it is because you're threatening to _kill me._" I made sure to emphasize the last two words. I didn't really have a choice of helping Len or not.

Kaito's sad frown was replaced by a happy grin, and the hopelessness in his eyes disappeared. "Good! I really am grateful for what you're doing." He continued talking about how happy he was, acting as if he never heard what I said about not having a choice.

As he was going on and on, I heard him say the word "indebted". Suddenly, I realized that I had an advantage on my side. Kaito didn't want me to die because he wanted me to protect Len. Maybe this meant that I could get a few favors from him. Maybe helping Len isn't such a bad idea, now that I think about it.

Wait a minute. I forgot about one thing. I interrupted him by asking, "What about Gakupo?"

Kaito paused in mid-speech and said, "What do you mean?"

"You described him as a kind person, but now, he's anything but kind."

His happiness once again disappeared. He looked regretful as he sadly said, "Power corrupts people. I was able to still be myself after I gained power…but Gakupo lost control of himself. He became drunk with bloodlust and power. I never thought it would happen to him." He abruptly stopped talking. His eyes were once again glazed over with sadness.

After a few seconds, he sighed and said, "You can go now. I'll have a soldier escort you back." He pressed a button on his table. Within seconds, a soldier opened the door. Kaito put on his fake, cheery smile again before saying, "Take this prisoner back to his home." The soldier wordlessly saluted and roughly grabbed my arm and dragged me out.

We didn't meet anyone for most of the way back, but when the soldier opened the front door to leave, we came face to face with Commander Leon. He looked a little startled, but he flatly asked, "Private Tonio. Where are you taking this prisoner?"

The soldier, Tonio, saluted and said, "Kommandant, I'm taking this prisoner back to the barracks. Schutzstaffel Shion requested to talk to this prisoner earlier."

Commander Leon looked interested at what he said and studied me with a piercing glare, as if trying to read my thoughts. After a few seconds, he said, "I see. Take him back." He moved out of the way to let the soldier through. The soldier saluted once more and said, "Kommandant," before leaving and taking me back to the barracks.

When we got to the barracks, he opened the door and pushed me inside. I stumbled a bit, but I managed to keep my balance. I heard the door shut behind me. The quiet conversations between the prisoners died down when I entered the room. They all stared at me with curious looks.

I ignored their quiet looks and walked over to Len, who was leaning against the wall. He, unlike the others, happily looked at me and waved. I half-heartedly waved back before sitting down next to him.

As soon as I sat down, he asked, "What happened?"

"I talked with someone, but that's not important. Are you sure what happened at the trial was real?" I knew I was blunt, but I had to find out.

He looked confused for a moment before he looked at the ground, refusing to meet me gaze. Huh. He and Kaito both did that. Guess it was a habit they shared. He quietly said, "Of course I'm sure. I was there on that day. Why are you suddenly asking me?"

He sounded like he wanted to cry. I felt guilty about making him go through this, but I had to find out the truth. I tried to keep my voice neutral as I said, "I was just making sure. Are you sure that all of it was real?"

He was silent for a few seconds. Suddenly, he glared at me and indignantly said, "Do you think I don't know what happened in the most important day of my life? I remember everything clearly. I don't know why you're questioning me, but I know that I'm right!" By the time he finished speaking, he was yelling at me, which literally stunned me. I never saw him angry before; I thought that he was too quiet and too soft to get angry, but I was obviously wrong.

I wasn't sure about what to say. I couldn't tell him that Kaito told me, or else Len would give us away and get us captured. I tried to sound soothing as I said, "Ah…look, Len. I was just wondering. I just wanted to make sure."

Len didn't look convinced, but he calmed down. Still with a trace of anger in his voice, he said, "…I know what happened. I remember." He turned away from me and lay down on ground, not saying anything else.

I felt uneasy by his behavior, but I tried not to let it disturb me. The silence seemed unnatural now; I was always used to Len talking. I sighed and closed my eyes. I really messed up. I'm supposed to be protecting Len, not making him hate me.

"Looks like you got a little problem." I opened my eyes and saw Ren sitting down next to me. He slightly grinned and said, "What'd you do to make the kid so mad?"

I frowned at the question. "It's none of your business."

"Alright, alright. Jeez, touchy." He was silent for a few seconds before he asked, "You met your friend?"

I nodded and said, "Yea. I thought he was dead."

"Thank God he isn't."

The conversation died down again, leaving the room quiet. Ren suddenly said, "You should get some sleep. You look tired. I've told everyone else about the transfer to a different camp."

Now that he mentioned it, I did feel sleepy. I let out a yawn before saying, "I think I will sleep. Wake me up before we leave."

"Will do."

I lay down on the floor and took a few seconds to get comfortable. Within a few minutes, I was sound asleep.

_Note: The next chapter will have A LOT more plot.  
><strong>Review button is tired<strong>_  
><strong>VVV<strong>


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